Nadia

I did a whole bunch of research to defend my coffee habit. (Photo: Getty Images)

#1-Ten Things We Could Learn From Children.

Adventurousness. The world is our oyster, yet some how we tend to get stuck in a rut.  Introduce a child to an empty house, or piece of land, and she will take off running. She is excited to see what new experience are in store. As adults, rather than exuberance, new places induce apprehension. If we change our mindset, we could see that unfamiliar territory  presents us with opportunities not burden.

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#2- Ten Things We Could Learn From Children 

Optimism. There is something about a child’s sunny disposition that is nothing short of enviable. Maybe it’s naiveté, after all, they have yet to be jaded by the daunting issues of maturity. Instead they maintain the hope that each year gets better, if being 5 was fantastic, age 6 has got to top it right?

The worst thing a person can do for themselves is dread the future. Good things happen to happy people. In the end, despite the pitfalls, life does keep getting better, if you let it.

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#3- Ten Things We Could Learn From Children 

Laughter. We laugh to be polite, or to seem witty, out of obligation, or even arrogance, but how often do we let go and really, truly laugh? That awkward loud, snorty or breathy laugh that takes you into silent mode for a few seconds and leaves you gasping for air. A belly laugh. The type that comes from shear joy and disregards other people’s judgement. A child-like, uninhibited display of complete bliss. We would all be happier people if we did that more. 

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#4- Ten Things We Could Learn From Children

Trust. Betrayal is inevitable. As we grow older, we face broken promises and disappointment, we learn that people aren’t always who they seem and that not everyone is true to their word. As years go by, it seems that many of us become jaded, to avoid being hurt, we distrust others until proven otherwise. While caution is important (that’s why we tell our children to not talk to strangers) the world would be a friendlier place if we had a little more faith in one another, if we waited until someone gives us a reason to doubt them and saw new acquaintances as friends not enemies (This would be easier if we were all a bit more honest but that’s another post). 

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#5- Ten Things We Could Learn From Children 

Creativity. Pablo Picasso said, “All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist when we grow up.” Somewhere after the coloring books and play dough and the home room doodles, we forget what it is to express ourselves.  Artistic ability is a gift in which some of us are much more adapt. Regardless of skill, however, there is something about being creative that is freeing. Take a pottery class, make a collage or do something to free you mind of structure deadlines and monotony.   

Harlequin by Pablo Picasso 

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#6- Ten Things We Could Learn From Children 

Energy. Kids do an awful lot of running, whether it’s at recess, towards the ice cream truck or from the bogeyman. They are always moving, dancing, jumping, squirming, fidgeting, rolling, sliding, skipping, swinging and so on. Kids are happy and full of energy partly because they are constantly in motion. We all know that an active body is a healthy body, and let’s face it, they only way to become “out-of-shape,” is through inactivity. In order to get fit, you need to get moving. Even though a child’s inability to sit still might be a problem during class, kids are usually happy people, and couldn’t we all use a bit more happiness? 

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#7-Ten Things We Could Learn From Children

Resilience. How many times does a kid fall down before they finally learn to ride a bike? dozens. How many math problems must they do before algebra makes sense? 50? 100? it depends, but one thing is certain, growing up is a learning process with an extremely high rate of error, and yet we all get through it. As a child, making a mistake is ordinary part of life. Sure some mistakes are a bigger deal than others, but they happen, a lot. So why is a fear of failure common among grown-ups? Take a dance class and you will miss a few steps, learn a new language and you will probably say the wrong thing a few times, look for a job and you will be turned at least once; that doesn’t mean you should quit trying. Without mistakes, there is no learning, tough it out and keep trying.

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#8- Ten Things We Could Learn From Children

Gregariousness. When a child is thrown into a room full of strangers (of their same relative age) what do they do? they approach and start to play. They are pros at this, since they have to do it at start of each and every school year. Why in adulthood, do we find ourselves hesitant to make new friends, why is it so scary to go somewhere when you don’t know who will be there? Sure, it may be scary, but so was the first day of school, as soon as the game playing (or conversation) begins, the butterflies disappear.

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#9- Ten Things We Should Learn From Children

Honesty. If you smell bad, run slowly or mispronounce something in an elementary school, your mistakes or shortcomings will, without a doubt, be immediately brought to your attention. Although kids may lack subtlety, in their delivery their brutal honesty is refreshing when compared to the backstabbing and disingenuousness of adulthood.  If you take their toys, break a promise or otherwise upset a 6 year old, you will hear about it straight from the source, rather than through office gossip two weeks afterward.

#10- Ten Things We Could Learn From Children

 Bewilderment. Give a toddler a jar of bubbles and you will entertain her for about an hour. As we age, however, we tend to be so busy and concerned with logic that we forget to take in the awesome simplicity that is life.  Sure its possible to create an equation to explain why bubbles float and why lightning strikes, but sometimes, isn’t it better to take a step back and take it in?

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 ”I don’t know why anyone wants to read about me eating a sandwich!”

When I first learned about Twitter, this is what I said, and the funny thing is, I have heard other people say similar things since. Twitter is a bit intimidating at first, the concept, known as microblogging, began as status update to be shared among friends, hence my assumed Tweet, “I am eating a turkey sandwich on wheat.”  Today, microblogging has become so much more than that. It is a source to share news, hobbies, and even network with professional and social contacts. It’s also a great and FREE marketing tool.

When I begrudgingly opened my own Twitter account, thanks to the encouragement of a guest lecturer at my University, I discovered that Twitter is an excellent source for news. On one page, you are able to scan headlines from hundreds of news sources at once. You can then follow links to the articles you want to read. It is the quickest, most convenient way I have discovered to stay informed. Instead of visiting Time magazine, the Denver Post, The New York Times, Examine.com, and Glamour Magazine’s websites individually, which would take hours, I can view their latest content in a matter of minutes! Twitter is also a great place to share recipes, hiking trails, new indie rock bands, parenting tips or whatever it is you are into, with people who share that interest.

As a recent graduate, I had been searching for career opportunities in the Denver/ Boulder network. At an informational coffee meeting with a friend of a friend who works in the field, I learned the potential power of Twitter as a networking tool. This lady literally got her job through Twitter! She, a marketing professional from the Midwest, inserted herself in the Twitter circles of Boulder. Through this, she asked advice from local professionals, contributed to forums about the business and kept up with the progress of her dream companies. She eventually became a part of the boulder marketing community from hundreds of miles away. This soon led to recommendations and a job in Boulder.

Not everyone can, or even wants to be as active on Twitter as my friend, but even small steps, such as, following the companies for which you want to work as well as its prominent employees, can give an inside scoop on what you need to know to get your dream job. I have learned through my internship (at Examiner.com) that it is extremely affective at gaining website traffic. By inserting yourself into Twitter conversations with cross hashes and adding relevant links to the conversation, I have found that many people will jump at the opportunity to read more on the subject.

On a simpler level, it is an excellent place to publish content from a personal website and gain readership. While the site may seem strange at first, I encourage people to make an account and, at the very least, start reading news more efficiently, before you know it, you too may start to enjoy the site’s infinite potential.