Imagine a playground. There are children joyfully prancing around you, full of laughter and glee. The only care in their little world is whether or not they will climb higher than they did before. The ones on the swings imagine themselves flying above the entire park, while those on the monkey bars see boiling lava below themselves, terrified to fall into it. All these kids living lives where anything is possible if they just try hard enough. My question is when did we stop believing in that?
When we're little, we have huge dreams of and for our lives. We see our world as this wonderful, magical place where we can truly accomplish everything. If you ask a child what he wants to be when he gets older, nothing keeps him from saying what he truly wants to do. It may be that he wants to be a pirate or a knight, and in his mind, he can do just that. If you ask a little girl the same, she may want to be a princess or a professional athlete. Guess what? Nothing can stop her.
British journalist Walter Bagehot once said, "The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." How incredibly true is that quote! If I were to tell you that you cannot jump over a stack of boxes, I am willing to bet that the very first thought that enters your mind is, "Watch me!" Why is it that people discouraging us from a task are often the biggest encouragement? This starts at a young age, with kids always trying to disprove those who claim they are "too young" or "too little" to do something.
Kids are always looking to jump higher than they could the day before, aiming for excellence and improvement in everything they do. Why are we not like that? It seems as though we have such a huge fear of failure that we refuse to try to do more than we did before, and "If it ain't broke don't fix it" is the motto for most. I say that each day is an opportunity to achieve more than the day before. Was today wonderful? Great! Tomorrow can be even more wonderful.
Children see the world so much differently than we do. With innocent minds that cannot comprehend the idea of failure, they always try harder. Thoughts like, "Today, I can jump over that chair. Tomorrow, I will be able to jump over that table!" cloud their minds, while we think things such as, "I can jump over that table... That's good enough for me." As we grow older, it seems as though we lose that sense of wonder that allows us to believe in our ability to dream bigger, jump higher, and stand taller.
Perhaps Peter Pan had it right when he chose to never grow up! Quoting this beloved character, created by author J.M. Barrie, "The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you forever cease to be able to." That is the attitude we should have on a daily basis! I encourage you to embrace your inner Peter Pan. If you want to jump higher, jump higher! We all get older, but who says we have to grow up?
