Thursday, March 08, 2007

Lessons From My Daughter - "New One"

Halloween 2006 was our two-year old daughter's first time to wear a costume and go Trick or Treating. At first, she was reluctant to do it. Walking up to a house, ringing the doorbell, saying "Trick or Treat," accepting candy, and saying "Thank You," were not activities she had done before.

For the first five houses, she stayed close to me, informing everyone she was with Daddy. However, at each successive house she was more comfortable with one of the activities. By the sixth house, she was doing all the elements on her own and adding another one. As we left each house, she would immediately say "New one," meaning for us to get to the next house. "New" was something exciting and something to anticipate.

"New" is a concept that I think is important to maintain as I get older - new experiences, ideas and opportunities. For me, when was the last time I thought, "New career," or "New location?" Sometimes I spend so much effort reducing risk and optimizing the current situation that I forget there are unbounded new opportunities waiting. Too often, the thought is stay with what's known and avoid the "new."

So how can I flip the natural tendency to maintain the status quo? How might I make new the norm instead of the exception? As my daughter taught me, it might be as simple as being willing to look for and be ready to experience "new ones."

For more on Crossing Generations, check back every Thursday for the next segment.

Photo Credit: morgueFile.com, Dee Kull

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

2 comments:

Stephanie Appleton said...

change is the only constant! :) Makes life interesting!

Anonymous said...

We can learn so much from the innocent enthusiasm of children. Thanks for sharing this. Visiting through the Carnival of Family Life.