What I learned from a 10-yr old boy today

Life lessons come in all forms, and sometimes the messenger will surprise you.

Last Saturday, I attended the TEDxYouth Singapore live event and I left learning from a 10-year-old how I can channel the power of empathy. Home-schooled and an iFly enthusiast, Kai Minejima Lee blew me away with his powerful presentation. Touching on the topic of empathy, he recalled an incident at a train station where an angry man pushed through the crowded station almost causing his mother to fall - he even looked back angrily at them. Rather than reacting negatively, Kai’s mom taught him, in that moment, how to apply empathy and helped him shift from being angry at the man to having compassion for him.

I was inspired and moved to tears throughout his speech. How could someone his age be so wise and have so much to teach us? I took his talk to heart and actually applied it this morning. I was disappointed with my vendor who informed me that he was unable to deliver a project a day after the due date. I recalled Kai's speech on Saturday as I frantically hunted down another vendor to take over. And just like Kai’s experience, when I applied empathy, my anger shifted to compassion within minutes. It stopped me from feeling self-righteous about the need to keep to a professional commitment. By making the conscious effort to view the situation with an emphatic lens it shifted me from a state of annoyance to peace and I was actually able to catch the magical moment of the transition.

“A 10-year-old's Insight into Being Your Best” TEDx Youth

It is not every day we come across a 10-year-old professional athlete. Since the age of seven, Minejima-Lee Kai has been competing in indoor skydiving competitions. Wise beyond his years, I’ve personally learnt a few things from him: on how we should think, feel and behave. From having positivity to learning from our mistakes, Kai shares how having the right spirit can lead us to success.