The past of our inner child is powerful. There’s so much that has happened to us and for us as children that have shaped us into who we are today. There’s a lot we can learn from the moldable minds of children. Adulting sometimes can put us in a place that distracts us from the child within who brought optimism and play into our lives.
Here are 5 lessons to learn from your inner child…
1. You Can Harness Joy
Last week, I bought my daughter a new pair of socks with unicorns on them. She noticed them when I got home right away. I handed them to her and her eyes lit up with complete joy.
“Thank you, mommy! These are the best socks ever!!!!! Please open them!”
Socks.
A pair of socks sparked such joy in this little child that it inspired me to write this post. Your inner child wants you to be happy. Find the joy in the small moments. From putting on a cozy pair of socks to the first savory bites of your favorite comfort food. Find the joy in both the little moments like hugging one you love to the big moments like having a child or getting that job offer. Joy is where it’s at. No one can take away those moments and memories from you. Let them guide you and inspire you.
2. You Don’t Have To Hold Yourself Back
Judgment is a bitch and no one likes it, not even the trolls of the internet. Our inner child doesn’t want us to hold ourselves back. They want us to explore, be curious and learn things about ourselves along the way. Let yourself free from what others think or containing your true feelings. Put yourself out there, embrace your fears and learn from shortcomings.
Sometimes our worst supporters are in our own minds. They tell us we aren’t good enough, strong enough, smart enough to do the things we want to do.
Next time that voice pops in, combat it with the voice of your inner child. Let yourself free from whatever anyone else thinks. That voice that says you can dream big, are capable of anything and fear won’t stand in your way!
3. You Can Have Relationships With Different People
Although we all come from different backgrounds we all share a very much human experience. Conflicts in families, the struggles of growing up, adulting, and figuring out where we fit in the world are all shared experiences. These experiences are common among us no matter what race, culture, or other backgrounds you identify yourself with.
Children often see people for who they are…people. They don’t judge and usually want to help and be part of someone else’s life. You can do that too by striking up a conversation or helping someone out through a difficult time. You may surprise yourself at how easy it is to build a positive relationship with someone just with a kind gesture or an ear to listen.
We all can follow the lead of children and relate to them in this way. Kids aren’t quick to assign labels, instead, they are quick to connect.
Connection is magic!
4. You Can Heal The Past
Our pasts can feel like they define us, but they don’t. Let me repeat that for those in the back…
Our past does not define us.
Do you know what does define you? YOU! So whatever happened in your past, remind yourself that you are not whatever happened. You are you, right now and a different person from even moments ago. If you’ve experienced trauma and that trauma comes up, you can remind yourself how that memory serves a purpose…to remind you of your survival from it. Your strength to move on to where you are today and the strength you have in you to move forward to tomorrow.
Healing our pasts can be complicated. It may involve deep introspection, therapy, hard conversations, and sometimes pints of ice cream and sappy romantic comedies. Please remember to use the past as grounds for healing and not regression to that time. You are stronger than you think.
5. You Make The Rules
Your inner child is totally a rebel. “No” I find the be the favorite word of kids. Their job is quite literally to test the limits of adults and see just how far they can go to get their way. Sure there are consequences along the way, that’s how we learn to behave. This helps us for the harder points of life later on like making moral decisions, operating businesses legally, and learning money doesn’t grow on trees (well, technically it does, but anyway…).
The lesson your inner child wants you to learn here is that you are in charge of your life. Don’t let your career, your past, toxic relationships, etc make the rules for you. You make the rules! So go crazy in the realm of life design and figure out what you really want and how you can make it happen. Eat dessert first! Find a job you can work remote in from where ever! Start online dating with a virtual meeting instead of analyzing nervous text messages!
6. Bonus! Thank Your Inner Child
Throwing in a bonus here that I think your inner child will appreciate. Our inner child has many more lessons we can learn from. Download the journal prompts below and see where they take you. Let’s thank our inner child for giving us that clean innocent slate that internal can guide us, help us embrace our dreams, and inspire us to be fearless when it comes to finding happiness.
