Think like a child again!! Pursue your passion.

Remember when you were just a kid?  Nothing seemed impossible….there were no limits to your imagination.  You would come up with silly games to entertain yourself, or come up with wild dreams of what your life would be when you grew up.  A child’s imagination has no boundaries.  However, as we grow up, our schools and the adults in our lives begin to tell us we are being immature and to stop being childish.  We start to cover up who we really are, and we begin to establish boundaries in our thought process.  We began to change how we see things.  We may stop voicing our real opinion.  And the next thing you know, we have let our natural creativity wither to the point that we now think like everyone else.

One of the biggest problems I see is that our educational system does not value creativity or imagination.  Yes you do have the occasional exceptional teacher, but as a whole, they don’t. Mostly, they want to make sure you can pass the state required test so they receive an acceptable mark.  I was in one of my kid’s schools the other day and I was absolutely floored by the award the school so proudly hung in the main office.  It was an “Achievement Award for Adequate Yearly Progress.”  I had to do a double take.  They actually give out awards for adequate?  The award was not for “Outstanding” yearly progress, or “Superior” yearly progress.  It was for “Adequate.”  The dictionary defines adequate as barely sufficient or suitable.  I sat there and thought, “They are teaching my kid to be adequate?”  Why don’t they just put a banner in the hallway that says “Reach for Mediocrity!!”

You have to reclaim your imagination.  You have to resurrect your creativity.  You have to shake off the limiting perception of others and break down your barriers.  If you’ve been following along with the previous posts for pursuing your passion, you’ve already started to open your mind up again to other possibilities.  You actually have to give yourself permission to dream again.  Ignore the negative people.  Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing again.

• Take time for yourself.
• Remove yourself from your daily grind.
• Turn off technology.
• Go for a walk/run/bike ride.
• Start a new hobby or revive an old one that you enjoyed.
• Take a class (Art is always good).
• Be willing to take a risk. New experiences can be energizing.
• Look through the information you’ve collected about yourself so far and reflect.
• If you have a young child, take time and play with him or her. Their imagination has no boundaries.

How are you regaining your imagination or discovering your passion? Other’s reading this may be having the same struggles you are having.  Share your comments on what is working for you, or if you are the struggling, share what has you stuck.  Surrounding yourself with like-minded, freethinking, positive people will help you open your own mind.