I don’t spend a lot of time with children.

I’m a 40-year-old gay man with no paternal aspirations.

I live in a dense urban neighborhood with very few young families.

Most of my friends with children have immigrated out to the suburbs.

I just don’t see kids often.

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Fast-forward to my family reunion last weekend.

Adults still outnumbered kids, but you wouldn’t have known it by the level of noise and energy emanating from our rented condos in an otherwise quiet mountain town in southern New Mexico.

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It’s a lot to take in when you’re not used to it.

But amidst all the chaos, I started to see some interesting lessons from my nieces’ & nephew’s behavior.

Things like:

• They argue against routine, but then also rely on it
• They get thrown off by new contexts, but quickly adapt
• They test constraints, then get creative to work around them

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And probably most striking of all…

They experiment. Prolifically.

Don’t like this game? Make up another one.

Don’t like the answer you got from mom? Go ask grandma.

Feeling energetic super early in the morning? Go ring all the doorbells and see who groggily answers.

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Sure, kids may still be quite sensitive in many ways…

But, man, are they fearless in testing things out.

Because what’s the worst that can happen...

Someone says no and you move on?

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So as I acclimate back to my quiet, “boring” adult life.

And find places where I’m holding back...

A next marketing move...

Or a new service launch...

Or even a personal content post...

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Maybe I’ll take a play from a kid’s playbook.

And just try it.

What's the worst that can happen?

💡

-Wes