Fun child, what does this mean to you?
What is the ‘Fun Child’ – The term comes from Transactional Analysis (TA) and is one of the modes that we can operate from. It is where our sense of wonder, humour and creativity comes from. If we don’t tap into it enough both in and outside of work, life can become very grey and stultifying. Some of us can see the funny side and laugh regularly even in the face of challenges. Others can go through long periods where there seems to be little lightness in their life. Recent research has shown the power of laughter in the healing process and in terms of managing pressures in our life. What does your fun child look, sound and feel like? What appeals to your Fun Child? – Are there certain people who bring out your Fun Child? What activities pander or trigger it? I am fortunate to have gathered around me associates who have the ability to tap into their Fun Child. Which means that whether we are working together or during one of our very long lunches there is lots of laughter amongst the more serious stuff. During a long meeting or workshop laughter can re-energise people. Think about your daily life, weekends and holidays – are there more things you can do to appeal to your Fun Child that will leave you feeling energised and uplifted? What gets in the way of the Fun Child? - If the Fun Child is so good for us and feels great, why does it sometimes disappear? Why do some people seem to lack this part of themselves? Stress, poor relationships, the inner critic hounding us, all these and many more factors can block our Fun Child. Laughing in the face of difficulties - I used to quickly lose my sense of humour when things got difficult or stressful, thankfully I have developed the ability to laugh in the face of difficulties. This is a much healthier response and gives me the energy and often the sense of perspective to deal with what is on my plate. Mastering Your Inner Critic – During my workshops on Mastering Your Inner Critic (next one 13th October) it has become apparent that for some people with a strong inner critic their Fun Child has not developed at all. Often it is as a result of a childhood filled with poverty, ill health in the family, or where they were expected to ‘grow up’ fast and taught that life was a serious business. I now realise that some people who rarely smile, yet alone laugh, often have an absent Fun Child and a crippling inner critic. Nurturing your Fearful Child – it is hard to laugh and enjoy life if you are almost permanently in a state of fear (this is frequently linked to the inner critic). The tyranny of perfectionism, the fear of making mistakes, saying or doing the wrong thing, leaves little room for laughter. Once people start to be able to look after and nurture their Fearful Child they then start to see a difference in their outlook on life. What might be blocking your Fun Child? What actions can you take to overcome this?
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