Last week I went to the fair with a little girl named KC. She’s 2 1/2 years old and about 32″ tall.
I thought we’d be spending a bulk of our time petting sheep, getting cotton candy all over our faces and spending money trying to win less-than-desirable stuffed animals.
As we made our way through the petting zoo, past the cotton candy stand and in-and-out of the game zone, I looked at KC and asked what she wanted to do next. With wide eyes, she pointed to the Fun Zone, a house-looking contraption filled with slides, mazes and rope climbing.
Unlike most “rides” at the fair, this one actually had a height limit: you couldn’t be over 42″ to go inside the Fun Zone.
Is it lame that I actually sighed a sigh of relief?
The Fun Zone
I mean, this Fun Zone didn’t really look all that fun to me. The maze looked confusing, the mirrors intimidating, the dozens of other kids trampling through it with determined looks on their faces – not to mention the slide at the end that was actually really, really high up there.
KC wanted to go in the Fun Zone, and she met the height requirement, so in she ran.
Watching her go through that maze and towards the mirrors, up the ropes and down the slide, reminded me of a time when I was fearless just like KC. When I wouldn’t have thought twice about pushing the send button on an email, or hitting the publish button on a blog post.
Not Being Intimidated
That day KC made me realize something that I’m still thinking about right now as I type this post: to be a kid again – if only in my mind – would be pretty great. I wouldn’t be afraid of the things that might sound scary, or that might seem intimidating.
Ever notice how you don’t get a rush from doing things that are familiar, or things that aren’t risky? It’s because you don’t have anything to lose. And with nothing to lose, you have nothing to learn.
And so from now on, when I get nervous about sending out that email, or pushing publish on that post, I’ll smile knowing that I’m pushing my limits. The result: each time I’ll be learning something new – getting better at what I do.
