20 Quotes To Remind Us That It's OK To Let Your Inner Child Out
It's time to go back and embrace your younger self!
“You’re an adult now, you shouldn’t be doing that.” “Be more responsible.” “Grow up.” These sorts of phrases are ones you might get told a lot when someone thinks you’re doing something childish.
To an extent, they’re right. Don’t lie on the floor and throw a tantrum. Don’t take a nap in the middle of work. And you should definitely use your words when you want something.
There’s a sad truth in today’s world: people are under the belief that as soon as you’re considered an , you can no longer have fun the way you used to. You should only do what is deemed to be “for adults.” So what, now you’re just expect to sit around and play bridge all day?
Here’s a better truth: it’s okay to let your inner child out. We all have it, even if you think you don’t. Try to remember those things that brought you joy as a kid. Was it toys? Adventures? Pets? Whatever it was, those were parts of your life that made you happy. Of course you can’t really go out and buy toys for yourself as an adult, but there is something you can do.
Letting your inner child out isn’t about being like a child. It’s about having an unbridled joy for something others may think is childish, or approaching life with an amazing curiosity. It can also mean doing things that might not entirely fit your age, but it makes you happy, so who cares?
There’s nothing wrong with having what some might call “childish fun.” If anything, it’s good for you because it allows you to unwind and reconnect with a part of yourself that you may have thought was gone. Don’t let others tell you how you should have fun. All that matters is that you’re the one enjoying yourself.
Now, if my words aren’t enough to convince you or the people around you, then maybe these people’s will. Take a look at the inspiring quotes below that remind you to loosen up, have a little fun and release your inner child - no matter how old you are.
1. Imagination is important.
“I love fantasy; I love imagination - that's the inner child in me.” –Hannah John-Kamen
2. It can be healing.
“Caring for your inner child has a powerful and surprisingly quick result: Do it and the child heals.” –Martha Beck
3. But don’t let it out too far.
“I think my inner child wants to take over the world.” –Mark Foster
4. Find a partner who feels the same.
“I want a man, but I want a man that also wants to embrace his inner child.” –Paula Patton
5. Sophistication is just another mask.
“The most sophisticated people I know - inside they are all children.” –Jim Henson
6. Listen to your inner child.
“Let us liberate ourselves from any form of control. Let us focus at the inner drum, where the rhythm aligns with that of our heart. The measure of responsibility, equals to the need for evolution. Just listen, the inner child, let it whisper in your ear.” –Grigoris Deoudis
7. Who wants to grow up?
“If by growing up you mean allowing the adult within me to abandon the child within me, I have no interest in such a horrid proposition. If instead you mean to let each enhance the other at the exclusion of neither, I have every interest.” –Craig D. Lounsbrough
8. Play on the grounds of creativity.
“Imagination is our inner-child and creativity, its playground.” –Jaeda DeWalt
9. Take the time to listen.
“Many of us are guilty of not taking enough time to dial into our inner child's voice.” –Kim Ha Campbell
10. Look through a child’s eyes.
“See the world through the eyes of your inner child. The eyes that sparkle in awe and amazement as they see love, magic and mystery in the most ordinary things.” –Henna Sohail
11. We all have one within us.
“Within us all is a radiant inner child bathed in joy.” –Amy Leigh Mercree
12. Simple is best.
“Honor your inner child by losing yourself in simple pleasures.” –Kim del Valle Walker
13. Don’t ignore your inner child.
“Some people think ignoring their inner child makes them seem grown-up. When I see someone ignoring a crying child, I think they’re an asshole” –Jay Bell
14. Wild child.
“Unleash your inner child, be a little wild.” –Laura E. Brusseau
15. Don’t keep them inside.
“Always bring out your inner child, be young at heart always, life is beautiful.” –Unknown
16. It’s the real you.
"The real you is still a little child who never grew up. Sometimes that little child comes out when you are...expressing yourself in some way. These are the happiest moments of your life - when the real you comes out, when you don't care about the past and you don't worry about the future. You are childlike." –Miguel Angel Ruiz
17. Life comes full circle.
"Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." –C.S. Lewis
18. Everyone wants to play.
"In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play." –Friedrich Nietzsche
19. If you don’t let your inner child out, it’ll become restless.
"The child is in me still and sometimes not so still." –Fred Rogers
20. And even if you think you’ve lost it, the flame can still reignite.
"So, like a forgotten fire, a childhood can always flare up again within us." –Gaston Bachelard
Jesse Oakley is a writer who writes about love, relationships, self-care and spirituality/astrology.