Words of Wisdom from . . . Barney?!?

Barney, the Purple Dinosaur, is not the first example that comes to mind when thinks of intelligence. Einstein? For sure. Ben Franklin? Yep. Bill Gates? Absolutely. All would come to mind before the big, fluffy green-spotted reptile.

Even among children’s characters, he would not be the first mentioned in a panel discussion of who’s the smartest. Velma (of Scoobie Doo fame), Charlie Brown (or Snoopy), even Bugs Bunny would likely rank higher on an intelligence scale. In fact, the Barney & Friends show has been criticized for its lack of educational value.

I will admit, I’ve never found Barney to be especially insightful, although I appreciate the lessons in friendship and getting along he tries to teach children. OK, so there’s not a lot of math, but who can argue with a theme song that says: “I love you / You love me / We’re a happy family?”

So this morning, when I read a new (to us) Barney book to Jack, you can imagine my surprise when I found a piece of profound wisdom in something Barney said.

In this particular story, a little girl named Lori was feeling anxious about her family moving to a new town. Barney (surprisingly) came to life to comfort her and help her imagine all the good things about the new place where they would be living. What he told her first was:

Barney demonstrated to Lori that everyday she grew up on the outside. Really, Barney, even my 2 year old knows that. So no insight there. But then, he went on to tell her:

“Every time you try something new, you grow on the inside.”

This is so true, whether you are an-almost-three-year-old who is starting swim lessons (as Jack is), or an-almost-forty-year-old who is starting a business (like me).

Why does change make you grow? Well, because it’s not easy. It uses different muscles of your body or your brain (or both) that may not be used to a workout. It takes energy, because not only are you engaging in the new activity, you are pushing against inertia, one of the most powerful forces of the universe. It requires imagination, a bit of courage, and a healthy dose of humility – because, hey, you just might fall flat on your face.

Later this same day, the Barney book long forgotten after the flurry of morning activities of home and work, I spoke to an old boss at a former employer. (I feel quite certain that he will never read this blog, since he didn’t even ask me what I was doing with my life now. . . although he did reference my new leisurely full-time Mom life a couple of times during the few moments the conversation ever drifted to being about me. OK, secret’s out as to one of the reasons I left.) This person proceeded to tell me all of the latest news from this employer, dirty laundry and all. As I listened to his monologue about the recent happenings, I thought: “Wow. Nothing has changed at all. We could have had this exact same conversation a year ago and it all would have applied.”

That’s when the Barney message came back to the forefront of my mind. I could have stayed in my job, in my company, in my environment, in my cocoon, and not entered this uncertain world of business ownership. The safe route. The comfortable route. The boring route. And again, I thought, I’m so glad I’m trying something different. I’m so glad I’m using different muscles. I’m so glad I’m growing from the inside. Because no matter what happens with my business, I am becoming a better and stronger person. (Plus I’m having fun!)

I think of my sons, to whom every day brings something new, whether it be in small ways (like feeding Luke a grilled cheese for the first time) or in bigger ones (potty-training for Jack). Learning to be adaptable to change is a key quality that they will need to have a happy life, because the only thing that is certain is that things will change. They don’t have a choice about many things now (except maybe what pajamas to wear at night, or whether to have tacos or fish sticks for dinner). I hope when they do have choices, they will take the harder path – which is usually going to be the one that is new. But that is the path that will help them grow.

For that reason, I think it’s wise to teach kids, even from a young age, that change is good. So, yeah, I guess Barney is pretty smart.