Let's Play!

When was the last time you played?

No, seriously. When was the last time you did something just to do it - no goals, nothing to check off your to do list, and no winning or losing?

The importance of playing - just doing something for the pleasure of it (some call it goofing around), came up several times in my workshop last week. One person said how LIFE was like a game and the rules could change in the middle, so it was important not to take it too seriously but to have fun and PLAY with it. Another said that she was taking a course and needed to go home and do her "home play" because it wasn't work - she enjoyed it too much. I thought that was BRILLIANT.

And it reminded me how important playing is when you feel stuck and unmotivated. We adults, we've been so well trained not to do something unless we see "the point". Or find an activity useful. Kids - they are the skilled play-ers. They are professionals at picking up something - a toy, a rock, a sock - and playing.

Yes, it is actually healthy to PLAY. It is an open, spontaneous, non-linear way to explore. It increases all those good chemicals in our bodies, like serotonin, that help us be positive, productive, problem-solvers.

Of course, some people can take it too far and use PLAY as an excuse not to do what they need to do, like make the bed - or make decisions. But I'm not talking to those people (they know who they are). I'm talking to those who are feeling tired, stuck, stretched too far.

My suggestion: start playing now. The sun of summer should help (or if you are in the southern hemisphere the cooler winter temperatures). Stretch those creative muscles. Chart new paths in your brain. Get those neural synapses firing. Do something without a list. Join your kids on the playground. Make a sand castle. Build a house for faeries in your backyard. Do the thing that you don't HAVE to do, but the thing that has no "point".

Afterwards, you may discover you're:

• relaxed

• focused

• content

You might even benefit from a bright idea.

Schedule yourself some regular PLAY time. Make a habit of it.

(And for those who really want the academic psychological take on the value of PLAY, there's a great article at: www.psychologytoday.com.)