TEDxDelft 2012 | Never grow up: today, but also tomorrow

Never grow up is our theme for today. Today is the day to eat from a Happy Meal lunchbox, to hop around and shake to the lunchbeats, to make some new friends, to play games, kick some balloons and forget about the reality of the world.

It’s a day in Neverland and you’re Peter or Tinkerbell today. Almost a year of preparations, brainstorming and having fun along the way have brought us to the Big Day. Your five sense are to be thrilled. Your imagination is about to take on a soaring flight. Sit back, but don’t relax – engage with everything and everyone around you.

But this evening you’ll be walking out of these doors again, and when you look back, Neverland might be gone forever.We don’t want the atmosphere to just dry out like that – we want to keep the flame for many more days to come.

So, how can we bring the spark of childhood into our lives? Here are a few ideas I have:

1. Stay curious

Keep asking questions – we already mentioned that. Keep wondering about why you do things, and which constraints these decisions place on your life.

Keep learning, evolving and improving yourself. Reinvent yourself from time to time. Nothing is written in stone.

2. Living light

Remember The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera? Let all that gravitas go, it will only weigh you down. A lost day is just that: a lost day.

3. Play

Play with children, play with pets, play with random objects – there’s no reason why you should give up playing because you’re a grown-up now.

4. Surround yourself with like-minded people

You’re already at a TEDx Event today, with people that love to learn and be inspired. But that shouldn’t end today – there are many opportunities to connect and learn with like-minded spirits.

5. Laugh and sing

Laugh out loud, sing in the shower and whistle while you work – Gretchen Rubin has some good ideas for you on that topic!