By: Anton M.G. Lindberg
There is no doubt that the world is full of accessible information. We can search the web and find everything in between successful people such as Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon to 236 million results of pie recipes on Google. Type in Personal Development and you will find another 2.7 billion results. Yet, with all this information available, independent studies show that depression among millennials is rising.
Healthline.com published an article on March 2019 named “Why Millennial Depression is on the Rise”. In this article mental health therapist Jessica Singh explained that millennials can not help to compare themselves to the success of others, which can leave them feeling insecure and unaccomplished. As a millennial myself who overcame depression, I relate with the arguments stated.
However, the Internet is not the root of evil.
It offers endless opportunities for the curious mind. It is thanks to Social Media I was introduced to global thought leaders like Robin Sharma. Or Tony Robbins who is known as a motivational ‘guru’ and has coached celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela according to Business Insider.
Yet there are people with no titles or reputation in our neighbourhoods who have taught me more about life than anyone else: kindergarten children.
But what is it that the internet failed to teach me, that they did? Here are two (forgotten) key practices for life:
Firstly, stop being sad and be happy, NOW. Have you ever seen a child that cried hysterically over something, to only within a few minutes later be able to laugh over a funny face? Children can shift their focus from negative to positive without overthinking. We still possess this skill. But only a few practices it enough. This goes beautifully in hand with Tony Robbins famous saying: “Where focus goes energy flows”.
Secondly, clear communication. Are you uncomfortable around children? I used to be. Back in my teenage years I was asked to be a kindergarten assistant. They showed me so much affection in the first two days that I called in “sick” for the rest of the week. I did not know how to cope with a four-year-old adamant girl who had told all her friends about her teenage crush (I had no say in this)?! Believe me I was petrified, and reasoning was not an option. The key lesson to take-away, is that kids have no filter when they speak. Instead they express what they feel without the fear of being judged. Read those two last sentences again and embrace the beauty of it.
To conclude, the next time you encounter a life problem. Spend time with a child.
Give it a go, go offline and reconnect with their imagination and authenticity! You never know what lessons they will teach you.
Believe it or not but spending time with children helps us to get out of our own heads and focus on what value we can bring to an innocent mind. Laughter could actually be the medicine that you are missing.
Anton M.G. Lindberg empowers young adults by liberating their mind of distractions through thought-leadership. His passion resolves around the idea of progress. In the past, he has founded several small enterprises but has now decided to focus on public appearances.
