I recently took part in an adventure race called Hell & Back in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. The course was 7km in distance (there is a 12km course too) and is filled with obstacles to overcome. We had ice baths, A-frames, 12 ft walls, swamps, sludge rivers, climbing walls, cage crawls, barb wire, sewage pipe crawls, cargo nets and river jumps.

Credit: independent.ie

The most important thing I learned today was just how much fun it was to behave like a kid again. Covered in mud, running through the countryside, not caring at all what you look like, no phones or anything with you, climbing over, under and through things and doing some stuff that you would not normally do. Like ice baths.

Not only is a super stress buster and good exercise, it was fun. It was fun not to care. So I found myself asking myself, how can I behave more like a kid more of the time. After all, they do seem to be happier than most adults I know most of the time. I know they don’t have the same responsibilities or money worries that adults can have, but should we let that effect how we act and how much fun we have in our lives? The answer is almost always No, but it takes work to shift your perspective to be more childlike and see things in a simpler light.

After this fun event, it is super clear to me that one good way to relieve stress, have more fun in your life and smile more is to think and act more like a kid. You don’t even need a playbook for this, it comes naturally to you if you let it out.

Yours in health and happiness,

JP