The Hole in the Bird House

16 month old Mason was visiting one day and, like all little boys, was busy investigating and getting into everything. In the kitchen he found a small metal whisk that suited his fancy and carried it along with him. Shortly thereafter he came upon a bird house sitting on a stool in a corner of the kitchen. His grandmother "GiGi" (the name our grandchildren call my wife) loves unique bird houses and has them located both outside for the birds to use and inside as part of interior decoration.

Mason stood there staring intently at the hole in the bird house. It seemed larger than the whisk. Next thing you know he tests the concept. Ah ha! It fits. So.....before we can say "stop," in it goes with a slight metallic plop. Mason pondered that for a little while and probably decided it wasn't coming back out. So off he went to investigate the next item to catch his eye.

We had a good laugh and tried to shake out the whisk, without success. But the amount of noise coming from the shaken bird house caused us to suspect Mason's cousins Nicky and Alex had been investigating the hole in the bird house too. Mason's dad solved the problem with a flexible claw used to retrieve small parts. Out came the whisk, a child's block, and other assorted items.

Isn't it interesting how small children continuously explore their environments, getting into everything, investigating how things work, trying things out, testing assumptions and continuously filling their growing minds with new information. And they do it with little fear. Even when they incur the occasional scrape or cut, they soon stop crying -- and immediately start exploring again.

Sadly, as people grow older, we begin to fear new things. We resist new ideas. We avoid emerging technologies. We stay away from the difficulty of learning new things. And when we do approach something new, we tend to do it slowly and with an abundance of caution. Accordingly, for large numbers of people, the older we get the more obsolete we become.

I try not to let that happen to me. But it's a struggle. And the older I get the more I must focus on learning new things. Luckily, I still very much do. And so should you. If you want to be a leader. And continue to be valuable in your work. And enjoy the benefits of new and better ways in all aspects of your life. Keep that innate curiosity of the child alive in you. And, if you've lost it, try to get it back.

About me: Dan Pelley teaches a number of productivity improvement techniques in his Proactive Leadership program. The program is offered on an open enrollment basis in Lincoln, RI and Danielson. CT. Click here to visit our website to learn more about this and other programs.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
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