It must have been ten years or more since the last time I stepped into a baseball stadium. Probably two decades, now that I really think of it. My family never made things like professional sports a part of our growing up, and so in my time being an adult I haven’t really made it a priority either.

But seeing my son become overwhelmed by the smells, sounds and sights of a busy baseball game, it reminded me of one reason why I don’t go to stuff like that: over-stimulation.

As a parent, you can see when a child has been over-stimulated. It is so obvious, their eyes glaze over, they become restless, they have a hard time interacting with the world around them and their mood swings become drastic. As an adult, learning to recognize that over-stimulated in yourself is not so easy – no one is going to regulate you but you.

Taking the time to limit the amount of lights and sounds, and eve people, we come in contact with can have powerful results on our well-being. When we stay focused on learning, growing and skill building in low stimulation environments, that’s when we really flourish. Its true of children, its true of adults.