Why are kids so good at asking why? As adults, we also want to know why, but crucial differences between kids and us get in the way of really understanding why (or why we don’t) seek the answer. So whether you want to know why visitors to your museum are not coming back after their first visit or wonder why employee satisfaction is down, the keys lie in cultivating our inner child to get to the answer to both simple and complex questions.
Kids’ lack of embarrassment is a key factor in their strengths in exploring the world around them.
Toddlers and small children are not embarrassed about not knowing something. We, as adults, are terrified to look stupid in front of others. We are socialized to think that we are stupid if we don’t know something. Unfortunately, years of schooling and working in teams have provided plenty of experiences that enforced this idea. We may remember once asking why and that kid in the class snickering when you asked “a stupid question.” Or perhaps the peer in a team who dismissed your wondering is what comes to mind. Kids aren’t worried that you will think less of them if they ask why.
As the Education Manager at a science center, I saw this repeatedly on my team. We had to take time during every training to consciously address the human desire to guess or make stuff up when you don’t know the answer. We taught our educators that there is no expectation of being experts on every science topic. Instead, we should embrace the role of co-explorer and celebrate questions to which we don’t know the answer.
If we are exploring a problem or opportunity, we need to consciously embrace our inner child and push past any sense of embarrassment. We do not know the answer to every question, and even the ones we think we know the answers to are often only answers that come from our lens or perspective of the world. So if we want a more nuanced understanding of this amazing world, let go of trying to look good in front of others.
The second key factor that sets kids apart from us adults when asking why is their sense of wonder.
“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.”
RACHEL CARSON, The Sense of Wonder: A Celebration of Nature for Parents and Children.
What I love about this Rachel Carson quote is that in her wish, she acknowledges that our sense of wonder diminishes as we move into adulthood. Wonder is often defined as a feeling that inspires the wish to understand. Kids seem to have an abundance of this feeling! So, what practices can we take on to increase our sense of wonder? I find that slowing down is the key to cultivating wonder. There is little space to ask these essential questions when rushing through life. When I make space for downtime and patience with myself and others, I am much more curious and frequently experience feelings of awe and wonder.
Cultivating our inner child by embracing their lack of embarrassment and sense of beauty and wonder in everything can help us to be more personally and professionally balanced. It inspires innovation and expands knowledge and skills. Reach out to me to discuss how I can help you create a professionally balanced atmosphere that includes positive exploration where wonder is celebrated.
Want to know more about Empowered Development Consulting? Reach out to me, Meghan Schiedel, and find out how Empowered Development Consulting can help you.