I think a lot can be learned about human nature from little kids at the dinner table.
Take mushrooms for example. Most of my kids at first glance wanted nothing to do with them. Uncooked they have a different sort of texture. When cooked they are slimy and squishy.
It is such a mystery to me how kids could possibly know with their limited life experience, that mushrooms are to be detested.
Where do kids learn these aversions?
Sometimes I believe they are learned and other times I think very early on we learn to fear the unknown. We avoid the unknown to prevent ourselves from experiencing something that might cause us to feel uncomfortable or in this case, taste something gross.
From the outside, something might seem to us to be gross or scary or hard, but in reality, it might be the exact opposite. In order to take advantage of what we could be missing out on, we must get out of our own way.
I have had some great breakthroughs around the dinner table over the years by pulling out my trusty magic tool kit. On occasion, I have shared some secrets with our kids about mushrooms.
For example did you know that when you eat mushrooms your hair grows super long like Rapunzel’s? I say magic tool kit cause this story worked like magic for us.
The kids are now a little older and understand that hair just grows all on its own and that mushrooms aren’t really magic, but some of them now enjoy eating mushrooms.
Sometimes we don’t know what is best for us. We get confused because maybe we are feeling something negative and this indicates imminent danger.
Maybe we are seeing something that doesn’t look or seem very fun or appealing, so the answer is to not try new things, make excuses, or just not question our instincts.
The result might be that we feel stuck or we limit our possibilities.
I am not saying we should all like mushrooms. If you really like your reasons for not eating them then all the power to you.
But, if you have never tried them and you are telling yourself you don’t like them maybe you are missing out on something amazing.
What limits have you set for yourself in life based on, first impressions, fear, or an unquestioned instinct?
I dare you to question it all.
