Flinch

Somebody throws something you weren't expecting at you--you flinch.

You touch a hot stove--you flinch.

A four-year-old in a Buzz Lightyear costume with a ninja sword, pirate hat, Superman cape, and bat wings jumps around the corner and yells at the top of his lungs--you flinch.

Then, a few thoughts run through your head:

1. Why does he need a cape AND wings?
2. Why doesn't my voice carry like that?
3. This would make an awesome episode of Deadliest Warrior.
4. Man, I wish I had a picture of this.

Then there's the flinch that you make when the same four-year-old rides his bike into the street with a car coming. No recoil here, just deliberate and instant forward action.

Kids rarely flinch. In fact, we punish each other for flinching. We had a game where one boy would walk up next to another boy and act like he was going to punch him. If the boy flinched away from the oncoming hand, there was a free punch to the flincher. But if the boy stayed where he was and didn't even blink, watching the fist stop short of his nose, then he got a free punch on the other boy.

Call it 3rd grade jousting.

Julien Smith writes this about the lack of flinch reflex in kids:

Kids naturally begin this way. It's why their world is always growing. They find hurdles, jump them, and get stronger. When they see they made it, they move on to bigger hurdles. If they fall down, they try again later. It's a basic cycle.

Today, don't flinch.

Here's another option: