By: Faizan Haq

People are Children at Heart

 There is a child that lives inside all of us. As adults we are disconnected with our childhood because we have aged, have become more educated and mature. In fact, the child within us lives there forever. This is why behavioral therapists try to explore childhood memories, experiences and feelings. Imagine, all the people around us are children, including ourselves. So what do children need to better their lives? They need attention, nourishment, recognition, encouragement and incentives. We get happy when we are recognized by our superiors. We feel encouraged when our friends and coworkers pay attention. People are children. 

 Children perform better if we appreciate them for their presence in our lives, reward them for their better behavior and at the same time nourish them emotionally, psychologically and materially. We discipline them exactly the same way as you incentivize them. Simply asking people how their childhood was is not a bad way to start. This kind of question may raise some eyebrows and we should also refrain from acting like expert psychologists, as little knowledge can be dangerous. Share your own childhood stories. This is only to get to know each other better, not to pass judgements. 

 We should try to find the child lost behind the facade of a pretentious adult. A pretentious adult uses aggression, boasting, exaggeration, false beliefs and prejudicial assumptions to alienate oneself and others. Children don’t have these problems. They want to play with others and have a good time doing it. The challenge for today’s workplace is to bring about an environment that helps children to perform better at work.