Why is it that when we’re young the prospect of sleeping anywhere but your own bed is so exciting?
As an adult, I don’t even like sleeping on the other side of my own bed. But my kids think sleeping on the couch in the living room is like a five-star vacation getaway.
Are kids just so excited to be away from what they perceive as a constraint – the routine, the location? Is sleeping on the floor in your big sister’s room just so novel that you’re excited about it, even though it’s objectively less comfortable?
Maybe that’s the lesson. Maybe novelty is harder to capture as an adult – enough experiences were “novel but bad” that we’ve adapted to a safe routine. Maybe it’s good to sleep on the floor now and then, just to remember that wherever you rest your head, you’re the one in charge.
The Opportunity Machine 