Celebration of Life Day falls on January 22nd. It is a day when children and grandchildren who bring joy to everyone around them are honoured. The day has come to signify everything about the beauty of life in itself.
For many people, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has also become a reason to celebrate and uphold childlike qualities in themselves.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman & Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare has asked people to liberate the child in them on this day.
“As people become older, it is natural that they lose their child like qualities,” he said.
“It is important for the life to be balanced to have fun, maturity, and control. Qualities in children like imagination – which helps them to make an airplane out of a piece of paper – and curiosity of asking questions always helps to learn. These are unfortunately lost as we age.”
Professional development
For some industries, their very future might depend on people being able to rediscover their childlike qualities. Author and founder of Uhibbook Publishing Sadia Khan said that openness and lack of ego are important for the industry she works in.
“When change is happening so fast, I think people need to be open and eager to accept new technology,” she said.
“There are many distributors and publishers who are still stuck on the ‘we need to publish x amount of books’ mindset. They are not realising that the industry is being revamped every minute with ChatGPT, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital distribution. It is absolutely vital for everyone in the industry to go back to creativity, humility and the honesty and authenticity of children to tell stories and create original content.”
Moreover, according to experts, these qualities not only allow people to have a rewarding life, but also help them advance professionally. Training manager and development coach Preeti Wale Sagar says that qualities like curiosity, persistence and optimism help people get far in their careers.
“A highly regarded leadership quality, curiosity helps individuals in listening to ideas of team members without any underlying preconceived thoughts or judgments,” she said.
“Persistence helps people achieve better results and at the same time build strong character and self-confidence. Meanwhile, optimism helps them take risks and be innovative. Optimism [also] has a whole lot of health benefits, like, it helps lower stress levels, promote better sleep and foster good personal relationships. All of these benefits help individuals perform better at work.”
Childlike personality
Dr. Moopen says that he agrees with psychologists who say that there are three parts to a person’s personality once he attains maturity — child, adult and parent. “While the adult is a positive, reasonable, and loving person, the parent is controlling and critical,” he said.
“The third personality type is the curious, inquisitive, fun-loving, and risk-taking child.”
According to him, it is essential for a person to have a bit of every part for holistic development. “The right combination of a balanced personality is said to be 60% adult, 20% parent and, 20% child,” he said.
“While both parent and child behaviours are required in a persona, an overdose of either will have a deleterious effect not only on the person but also on those around him.”
“I believe I am more of a parent-contaminated adult and would like to have more of the playful child in me for being imaginative and inquisitive, while creating more fun and excitement around me.”
According to Sadia, the day is also a reminder for both adults and youngsters to learn from each other. “Older people must realize that it is fine to learn from and take advice from the youth,” she said.