Today I sit at my dad’s work. I ran over screw in the road and had to drop my car off at the mechanic. Fingers crossed they can fix the issue, if not, I needed a new tire anyhow 😎
Instead of twittling my thumbs stuck in a parts room, I decided to write. Writing has always been one of my favorite ways to express myself. I also like to cook, but that’s for another day. So here we go…You get a new blog post and I get a moment to rant (ha!)
Nonetheless, as a mom of a toddler, I’ve noticed something lately. Toddlers have the best (and worst) attitude. I say that because my little boy will spit fire in a minute, tell you no constantly, break a fit in the check out for a toy, hug my neck, and each french fries all the SAME TIME! He’s taught me to lean more into my intuitive eating journey because he eats what he wants (no diet food needed) and wears sweatpants all day without any apology.
I titled this post “Life Lessons from a Toddler’s Perspective, That We All Need to Embrace” because raising a toddler teaches me lessons every day, and I want to share them with you…
Saying NO is needed because boundaries ARE a big deal. I had a problem with boundary setting for a long time. People-pleaser was my middle name and allowing others to walk all over me was what I did best…. I always said yes entirely too much. Until I realized, I couldn’t fit everything into my schedule and that’s OK. I had to understand those two little letters N-O had so much value, power, and self-love. Remember “NO” when you try to take on too much for your own good.
Gratitude! Appreciate the dirt! Not just the dirt but say thanks and learn to love everything like it’s brand-spankin new! Remember when you were younger a fresh picked flower was a big deal. Seeing ants crawl down the sidewalk was the best thing since sliced bread. Rainbows were always beautiful after a storm and making snow angels in freezing cold temperatures was the best idea ever! Get back to those moments where you can be thankful for even the smallest occurrences. It’ll make you do the happy dance way more often.
Eat what you love, not what you were told. If you don’t like carrots, why the heck or are you eating carrots? Craving soup, eat the darn soup! This tip is HUGE if you ever suffered from diets, eating disorders, disordered eating, or just lost sense of enjoying food. It does happen because it happened to me. I totally had to re-train my brain. My toddler doesn’t worry about his food, he always eats WITHOUT guilt or shame. I compare intuitive eating to a baby and toddlers also know exactly how to use those hunger signals. You can use them too!
Sleep and rest. So important and yet, sometimes we still forget it’s ok to stop and pause. Full transparency, my kid hates sleep, but he still needs a nap. If not, I’m dealing with a whole other situation. Our bodies need rest too. We aren’t designed to be doing, doing, doing all the time. Take time to make sure you’re getting enough sleep and heck, take a nap too.
Wear what you want because that’s sexy! Why fit in when you were born to stand out? Have you heard that quote? It’s a good one. Often, we think we need to (or should be) wearing clothes that other people (social media, TV, etc.) think we should wear. But we don’t even like them. We wear’em to be like everyone else. We compare ourselves to others because we want to look like everyone else. Stop that! I spent too many years doing this to myself too. Quit now and wear what you want. Who cares what the flip is in “style!”
Get excited, play, and stay curious. Being happy puts you in a better headspace. When’s the last time you laughed at your own joke? Got pumped about going to the grocery? Or felt interested in something new? To raise your vibration takes work. But it’s significant for our mental health and well-being to try and to live in a state of inquisitiveness and playfulness. Imagination is a powerful tool as a toddler and is still something we should be using. Stop taking life so seriously! Get out there and have fun!
Never stop learning. Toddlers are constantly learning and evolving. Their brains are in a continuous state of motion observing their environment, taking on new opportunities, experiences, and situations. I urge you to do the same. For self-growth to emerge, you must want to absorb and educate yourself daily. It’s never to late to try something new. A new hobby, a new experience, etc…Make the time to learn, fail often, and never give up on your dreams or yourself. BECAUSE YOU MATTER!
Let stuff go. Holding grudges is keeping you stuck from moving forward. Toddlers get mad, but not forever. (Thank God!) Those little temper-tantrums suck, but they do get over it fairly quickly. I suggest it’s time to let go of control to truly get into the flow of life. Stop allowing life to control you. Take the bull by the horns and allow anger to roll off your sleeves. Get back to love and make the time trust yourself more often.
These are my top 8 tips, but the list goes on and on. Whether you’re a parent or not, we could all use more of these “toddler” instructions to live our best life!
Thoughts, questions, comments? As always, let me know. In the meantime, share this post with a friend. I’m going to go get my car back. Talk to you soon!
Love,
Kayla
