5 things I hope to do more like my 1-year old this year

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Today, as I was reviewing my resolutions for 2015 and starting to get ready to head back from my vacation, my 15-month old son did what he often does and started peeking into my laptop, smiling, gesticulating and babbling in his language at me and the screen.

As I rounded out my list, I couldn't help thinking about some of the best qualities I see in him and wished I could do more of the same.

So I'm adding a few of them to the list with the hope that in these five ways I can be a little more like my son this year


  1. Fearless: Its either just in his nature or because children his age don't know any better - but this kid is fearless - which of course scares the heck out of his parents.

    He hasn't met a new sound, person, surface or experience that he isn't eager to try - scary when you see him sprint towards a swimming pool. When he was a few months younger, he at least hesitated a lot more. After this India trip where he's met many more people and been to many more places, absolutely nothing seems to faze him.

    As we grow older, we are taught to be afraid and learn to play it safe. I think we could all instead learn to fear less from watching kids.

  2. Be curious: This kid wonders about everything. Anything and everything must be touched, licked, banged on the ground, stared at intently and then licked again (if it doesn't fit into this mouth completely). Every button on a remote or a phone is pressed until something around him happens and any utensils found are banged on the ground to see if they produce a slightly different sound. Everything from the moon to a new lamp installed in our apartment complex is met with an intent stare and an impossibly cute "oooo" sound.

    At some point as we get older most of us either take the incredible things around us for granted - we forget how awesome everything we have around us both man-made or natural actually is. Or worse, we decide that we're not going to try anything that's new - be it a new technology, a new social network, a new dish etc. etc. What the hell happens to us?

  3. Be Happy by default: I have a happy kid. He smiles a lot, starts dancing when a song he recognizes comes on and squeals in delight at the most mundane things. He's happy to be alive. Shouldn't we all?

  4. Smile at everyone: In the building that my mom lives in, more people know my son than know me. At the airport and in every plane ride we've been in, everyone around us gets to know his name. The reason is pretty simple - he smiles broadly at almost everyone. Everyone responds and asks what his name his. Just by smiling widely and looking at them (it helps that he's small and cute), he makes friends and he makes these friends feel better because they spend so much time smiling right back at him.

  5. Get more sleep: Yup. I've been better at this in the last six months, but still...

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