Because we are getting older does not mean that we have to get old. As we progress through our lives and go through many stages that society equates to adulthood, some of us lose our spark or what I call our inner child. The inner child is one’s ability to explore their deepest interests without any self-limiting reservations. The mundane tasks of going to work, watching TV, paying bills, and daily chores have set us in a routine that limits our inner child.
Though creativity is encouraged, it is confined to the structures set forth by our job, organizations we are a part of, and society as a whole. When we were children, we were natural artists with fresh, creative ideas that allowed us to be free. Children receive joy from what adults would think the most minuscule things, but their happiness resides in their exploration of their ideas, which inherently increases their feelings of creative self-value.
Listening to your inner child is simply exploring yourself from within and preventing pre-conditioned structures from stopping this exploration. I recently watched a short video on Jim Carrey and in the video he mentioned that “he needed color in his life” and in this video I was able to get a glimpse into his mind and his artistic prowess. While enamored with his various paintings, a thought came to my head, “Hey, why did I stop painting and drawing?”. When I was younger, you could not pull me away from markers, paint, or crayons. These tools were there for me to formalize my feelings and thoughts in an unstructured way. There is form to art but the artist’s attention is not so much focused on structure but allows their creative genius to flow from within. This video not only inspired me to paint and draw again, but explore some of the things I found interesting when I was younger that I mistakenly regarded as childish as I got older.
The inner child within you is what is going to give you that sense of aliveness again. The thought of doing that thing you always wanted to do as a child is still present in your thoughts, because you have not done it yet. It is waiting for you. Do not make exploring your inner child so difficult, but simply allow yourself to be open to experiences that will bring out your inner child. Each day you can reserve some time to yourself that allows you to do this exploration. Here are some suggestions that may get the creative juices flowing!
- Get a coloring book and some crayons and go to Starbucks
- Sit in the front row on a roller coaster
- Sing like crazy in the shower
- Play your favorite videos games with a friend one weekend
- Run around barefoot in a field of grass
- Watch your favorite cartoon or film you enjoyed as a kid
- Pick up those brushes and start paint whatever you see
- Stop for ice cream or popsicles
- Go Skydiving
- We all loved the stars as children, so get yourself a telescope of go to a space museum
- Go to an acrobatics and gymnastics center for a day
- Bounce on a trampoline
- Take a vacation day and do whatever you want to do
- Explore your town or nearby cities
- Give random people high fives and smiles
- Cook a new dish
- Make a YouTube video offering advice on a topic you know about
- Hop on a swing at a local park
- Walk around naked in your house (make sure the blinds are down!)
- Volunteer at an organization focused on helping children
Let your inner child flow from within. Listen to that internal energy. Allow you to be YOU. Explore your ideas, your feelings, and your dreams, do not ignore them.
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