Coddiwompling is simple: So simple a puppy can do it, so simple a kid can do it, so simple that you can do it.
Notice the carefree contented nature of puppies and little kids. They are master Coddiwomplers. They do what comes naturally and feels fun. No puppy ever chased a ball because he needed to get in shape. He chases a ball because it’s fun. Notice how little kids play. It’s random, often silly, and amusing. Now notice how a little kid can be so upset one moment and giggling the next.
Puppies and little kids live in the moment, do what feels natural, and haven’t been taught to judge.
What if we could all live like puppies and little kids and be super successful without stress and pressure?
We are all natural coddiwomplers. Truth is: we were born to do it. There’s not one adult alive who wasn’t once a little kid. We had to be taught how not to coddiwomple. Life hasn’t been the same since we’ve learned to ignore our instinct, judge ourselves and others, and make ourselves do things that we really don’t want to do. Coddiwompling is returning to who we really are.
Just yesterday a friend told me he could never coddiwomple. In that instant I realized he didn’t understand. Coddiwompling is the essence of who we are. We can’t help but to coddiwomple, though most of us think our way out of following the tickles of our soul every day. Coddiwompling is following our heart and living by the sense of knowing we all have inside.
A little kid doesn’t paint to hone her touch and creativity so that she can become the next Picasso; she paints because painting is fun. It is play to her. Although, her touch and creativity will surely improve the more she plays through painting. Then one day she will grow up, start a business (because that sounds fun), and then she might think she needs to follow a set of rules to grow a business. So she’ll trudge through the muddy waters of what others have done and what people say she must do to be successful.
She forgot what it’s like to play. What if she did things in business purely because she was drawn to do those things? What if she stopped having to make tough decisions and went with her gut?
Playing and following your heart in business might sound scary, but only because we’ve been taught that this isn’t how things work. What if it is that simple? If being an adult had the same feeling and quality as a kid at play everything would change.
Fun and creative ideas arise when we get out of our heads and really listen. When we let all judgement and constraining ideas of how it should be drift away, we are left with peace and knowing. This is the fertile soil for massive creativity and ingenuity. This is the simplicity of coddiwompling.
Coddiwompling isn’t living all willy-nilly. Coddiwompling is not careless or chaotic. Coddiwompling is peaceful and simple. Coddiwompling is also very individual: what feels great for you, might not feel great for me.
Yesterday I watched a master coddiwompler interact with her children. Her son has a birthday party next weekend. When we picked him up from school he was concerned about who to invite to his party. “Should I invite my whole class? …but I don’t want this person to come, and what if I do this….” His brain was racing with what ifs and hows.
She asked him simply “Who do you want to come?” I could still hear all the chatter of his thinking and she could too. So she asked again “Who do you want to come?” He got quiet. He knew. We all know. It’s simple. We just often ignore our inner knowing.
What do you really want to do?
Go do that.
Here is a simple 3 minute experiment:
Give yourself a moment to relax. Let go of the idea that there is anything you must get do, or should do. Notice your feet on the ground/floor, notice the sensations of your finger tips. Take a deep slow breath and relax into where you are. Then go and do what the tickles of your soul nudge you to do for the next three minutes. You could do anything, or do nothing at all and sit right where you are. You might go outside and stand in the sun or wash dishes or check an email or play with your kid or a pet, or do anything. Really give yourself the freedom to just be and do anything without any “shoulds”. Give yourself a gift of having total freedom for those three minutes. Wait, before you give this a whirl, one more thing:
What if you couldn’t get it wrong? What if anything that happens in the next three minutes was perfectly fine? What might you do then?
Try this out, see what comes up for you…
And if you have questions, reach out anytime.
Get articles like this delivered to your inbox
If you would like to receive intriguing stories, thoughts and ideas in your inbox once every month or so, sign up for the newsletter by clicking HERE