Lessons from my 1-year-old son

The “Baby glasses”
Once you put them on you see all the people in the world as babies. Yourself included.
A world filled with wobbly babies, doing grown-up things. From the elderly person on the park bench to your boss. Everyone is a baby.
Speaking baby talk goo-ga-boo.
Throwing tantrums.
Trying to make sense of the world.

How is this relevant to your life?
The Baby Glasses help me be more patient, solve problems better, and make faster progress.
It’s also showing me that I should smile and be more optimistic, even when things aren’t going well.

The annoying person at work? Get past your frustration. Put on the glasses, see a baby, and try to figure out what the cute little fella needs. A hug? Attention? Nap?

Bashing your head against a problem? Baby Glasses time.
You're a baby trying to place 3 bricks on top of each other. But your motor skills aren’t good enough, your understanding of balance and physics isn’t good enough, and your skills aren’t up to the task.
Improve either by trying over and over again or ask for help.

I quit walking.
I’m not good at it.
It’s not for me.

-- Said no baby ever...

Looking at my son fall, knock things down, and get chased away crying by his older brothers, only to move on to his next adventure smiling gives me a glimpse into a lighter way of being.

Let go of the past, and look forward for the next adventure.
I suck at this, you could say I’m a baby at being a baby 👶

Try the baby glasses a few times a day, you’ll be surprised.
Your angry boss? A baby trying to get what he wants. Superstar co-worker? A baby who figured out a certain aspect can walk well, but can’t talk yet. You? Baby trying to figure out how to walk.

Is your teammate making the same annoying mistake for the 100th time?
Put on the baby glasses. What’s the reason the baby is crying? What is she missing? Is she hungry? Does she have gas? Is she frustrated from not being able to fit the right shape into the right hole? Babies need time to grow and figure out things.
Getting mad at babies or asking them to try harder is futile. Give him a hug, calm him down, and do it with them. Help them not to hurt themselves (despite the fact they’re trying really hard to…).

Takeaways

1. Look at everyone like a baby. They might be: tired, in pain, hungry, not getting what they want, or trying to figure out how to do something.
2. If you stick with something, you’ll figure it out. No baby gave up on this walking thing because it wasn't for them.
3. You don’t have to figure out everything by yourself. Ask for help. Someone figured it out already.
4. Babies are optimistic. They laugh and smile and see the wonders in the most basic things.
   They quickly forget bad experiences and curiously move on to the next thing.

So, go ahead and try on your Baby Glasses. You never know, it might just change your life.