“What if…”
That’s how every episode of Wild Kratts begins. The Kratt Brothers say it with such energy and excitement right before they’re whisked away into the animated world of creatures and adventures.
My youngest, Eleni, loves this show. Honestly, I do too. It’s that perfect mix of real-life science and cartoon storytelling, educational, colorful, and just plain fun (I love Dinosaur Train too but that’s a different post). And what amazes me most is how much she remembers. She’ll casually drop a fact about how a cheetah accelerates or how a beaver’s tail works like it’s normal dinner conversation. (Meanwhile, I’m Googling to check if she’s right…and…she usually is.)
But back to that phrase – “What if…”
On Wild Kratts, it’s said with wonder. It’s an invitation. A call to curiosity.
“What if we lived like a honey badger?”
“What if we could fly like a peregrine falcon?”
“What if we swam like a sea lion?”
Each “what if” launches an adventure.
For many of us adults, though, “what if” means something else. It’s a regret.
“What if I had taken that job?”
“What if I hadn’t said that?”
“What if I had tried harder?”
Same words but totally different energy.
Kids have this built-in superpower to make “what if” a doorway instead of a dead end and leap through it. Maybe that’s what we lose as we grow up, the willingness to see “what if” as a possibility rather than a punishment.
Maybe we need to bring that back.
So…what if we did?
What if we looked at our next challenge with curiosity instead of fear?
What if we treated ideas like experiments instead of ultimatums?
What if we jumped into our own “animated world”, not literally, of course (though I wouldn’t say no to a lobster power suit – Halloween preview!) but into a world where possibility leads our thinking?
That’s how environments of success are built. Not from certainty, but from curiosity. From the courage to ask, “What if?” and then to find out.
Tonight, I’m probably going to hear Eleni shout, “Activate creature powers!” at the TV while I’m pouring a glass of wine, doom scrolling. But I’ll be thinking about it – about how the Kratts, in all their cartoon glory, might have stumbled onto one of the simplest formulas for growth.
So…
What if…
Quote of the Day:
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
One Win:
Eleni now knows what a pangolin is. I didn’t…but do now.
One Question:
What if you stopped being afraid to ask “what if”?
MattMunnell.com 