My Kid Helped me better Appreciate my Animal Mind!

Everyday, at some point, my two year old throws all 37 lbs of himself on to the floor in a fit of rage.

I remember one time my grandmother asked me, “How do you stay so calm when he’s yelling?”

My first thought was… “She thinks I’m calm? I’m fuming…”

Then I thought…”Grandma this isn’t calm, this is survival…I’m not reacting because I’m conserving my energy…”

But the reality is, even though they annoy the dickens out of me…my kid’s tantrums have helped me become more understanding of my own needs…as a human. The animalistic needs that as a responsible adult, I tend to suppress.

Animal mind is impulsive, does not rationalize anything, and is keenly aware of what it wants. Here is what I have learned about my animal mind, thanks to some help from my wild child.

ITS OKAY TO BE UPSET, AND TO EXPRESS THAT UPSET.

Babies express themselves. And yes, I’m an adult so I know it’s senseless for me to run around throwing tantrums. But the energy HAS to go somewhere or it will morph into resentment. So what do I do? I write! I take my anger and frustrations and write them out of my body.

Some other ways to deal with upset is to punch something, yell, cry, scream. You get the point.

EMOTIONS HAVE VALUE

What’s the use of emotions? I write more about that here, but emotions are good for showing you what you are doing with your mind.

Emotions communicate with us and let us know what’s going on with us mentally as well as energetically. Instead of ignoring them, I have found that a better idea is to observe them and see what they have to say to you.

ITS OKAY TO HAVE DESIRES

Kids will always let you know what they want. But how often do we adults lie to ourselves about the things we want out of life? I’m big on gratitude, I try to write in my gratitude journal everyday.

But you know what? There are still things that I want! And that’s okay. It’s okay to want things. Make peace with that.

Having desires makes us human, and while yes, we must practice living within our means and all that good stuff…there’s nothing wrong with wanting stuff!

THE QUICKER YOU EXPRESS YOUR EMOTIONS, THE FASTER YOU CAN MOVE ON FROM THEM

This. Adulting can lock us down and make us feel like we have no room to express ourselves. And while I’m not one to spill my random emotions out on the internet, unless I’m drunk, I know how good it can feel to release things. Kids do it all the time and you know what?

They pop right back up, unscathed.

So what about you? How do you reconcile your animal mind? How do you honor the less rational side of you?

It deserves your love and attention, too.

Love,

Nia Venus 💋