Despite having two undergraduate degrees and two masters degrees, I’ve spent more than 40 hours over the past few months in kindergarten. Or at least that’s how it seems. Where else would you read out letters on a spinning board while wear red and green glasses, trace a picture of a cow, or stare at colorful beads on a string?
Well, it turns out kindergarten doesn’t have the lock on such activities. People of all ages engage them through Vision Therapy – in order to teach their brains to use inputs from both eyes simultaneously – an ability we’re not born with. In fact, it is a diverse set of skills, which we ideally develop by pre-school age. But thanks to the plasticity (ability to change as a result of experience) of our brains, adults who’ve never developed these skills can finally obtain them. Adults like me.
I imagine this is what my clients sometimes experience. Actually, I know they do. Time and time I’ve heard, “I wish I had known this sooner.” “Why didn’t I learn this as a kid?” “They don’t teach these things in school. They need to.”
So much in life isn’t rocket science. There’s great wisdom in the basics.
The what’s and how’s of effective communication, relationship management, emotional regulation, and conflict resolution are simple, but not easy. We must learn them and practice them consistently, over time. I take great joy in teaching my clients skills, training them to put them into use, and watching with them as relationships transform, people grow, and businesses begin to thrive. We, and our amazing brains, are never too old to learn new skills and put them to work for ourselves, our friends and families, our companies, and causes about which we care. So don’t be afraid to “go back to kindergarten.” It could be the wisest thing you ever do.