If you ask a kid what he or she wants to be when they grow up, watch how their eyes open as they describe the possibilities.
The options for achievement and discovery in the future are limitless for them – and that’s exactly why we tell them they can be whatever they want to be.
Most of us emerge from university with a sense of drive and hunger that’s accompanied by an almost naïve expectation that we can change the world. That carries through most of our twenties, but at some point that sense of wonder becomes buried under a pile of deadlines, work stress, and even a feeling that your time has past.
Losing that sense of wonder – that feeling that anything’s possible – is basically accepting that your excitement in life has reached its apex.
Here are 11 ways never to lose that.
1. Don’t Lament on the Past.
It’s one thing to reflect upon the past (the good, messed up, and just weird) and laugh at it and learn from it. But it’s another to get stuck in a cycle of “what ifs?” This is a massive barrier because a sense of wonder involves looking, thinking and moving forward. So get out of reverse.
2. Cheers the Future With a Glass Half Full.
When looking forward into the future, do so without worrying about things like how you’re going to pay your kids’ tuition, whether your parents will need extra care, or when the world’s going to end. Instead, focus on all the things you have to look forward to. As for all the potential challenges, you’ll tackle them once you get there.
3. Avoid Comfort Zones and Don’t Settle.
It’s pretty easy for any sense of wonder you had left to become buried beneath layers of frustration and a reluctant acceptance of the status quo if you find yourself stuck in a routine in both your personal life and work. Whether it’s at a job that’s just ok or a relationship that’s “comfortable and works,” the term “settle” should never be in your vocabulary. Stay challenged, excited and rewarded.
4. Set Your Goals and Expectations High.
If your goals and expectations are set high, you’ll constantly strive to achieve higher, recognizing that so much more waits. This means you won’t settle. But we warned: if you’re too focused on the grind, you’ll lose sight of being able to appreciate the fruits of your labour in the first place.
5. Spend Time With Young Children.
If you want to see the workings of a sense of wonder first-hand, spend more time with your niece and nephew or friends’ kids.
6. Don’t Go Too Long Without the Ocean.
The ocean does something to the soul that transports you to that “anything’s possible” child-like state without you even trying. It offers calming self-reflection with its limitless nature, awaking that sense of wonder as you literally wonder who’s on the other side of the ocean and what’s in store for you.
7. Keep a Handwritten Checklist of Places You Want to Visit.
Open your mind to new places and ideas far beyond those of your daily life. Go big and broad with your travel bucket list. Make an actual list – either solo or with your significant other – of the places in the world you need to see and cross them off as you go along. When you’re done you can frame it.
8. Talk to the Locals When You Travel.
What’s the point of travelling if you’re not going to soak it all in? That means the food, the culture, and the people, and the best way to learn is first-hand from the locals. The insight you’ll gain is way more mind-expanding than any website you stumbled upon pre-trip.
9. Watch More Movies.
Movies can open your mind and imagination to new places, views on life, and ideas as to how you want to live your own life.
10. Make a List of Possible Entrepreneurial Projects for Retirement.
Nobody likes the thought of becoming old; that’s why we never think about it. But rather than live with the idea that your life is going to come to a slow and depressing halt the second you retire or reach “senior citizen” status, daydream about the possibilities of a low-stress entrepreneurial project – even of if you never intend on actually doing it.
11. Never Feel Like it’s too Late.
The reason why many of us leave our sense of wonder after our first entry-level jobs is because we figure it’s too late to change our minds and start something new. Julia Child, Samuel L. Jackson, and Vera Wang were unheard of until after they turned 40. Let that soak in.
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