“Anything that connects us with our childlike energy and joy counts as fun” – Susan Biali.
Be honest sporty sisters, how much playtime do you allow yourself?
I am talking about the kind of playtime that is made up of silliness, spontaneity and fits of laughter that leave you feeling youthful.
Do you find yourself reminiscing on the times when life seemed to be light-hearted and full of exuberant adventures?
If you do spend time reminiscing, then you’re most likely going to be familiar with an excuse along the lines of, “Well, life was much more simpler and carefree back when I was a child but times have changed, I am an adult now”.
Is this really why you don’t have as much fun anymore? When you think about it, becoming an adult never once robbed you of your ability to have fun. But growing up did give you the responsibility to make sure you keep fun thriving in your life.
How do you let it thrive again? Well, it’s very simple… GO AND PLAY!
Being playful benefits our wellbeing substantially because without fun and games life is just dull, tedious and downright unhealthy. It’s a known fact that when people make time to play, the advantages are wondrous. For women, fun helps to cope with stress, which in turn means greater wholesomeness (and hopefully less of an impulse to reach to chocolate for a pick me up).
In order to reap such benefits, we must first alter a few of our adult perceptions that keep us from playing and having fun.
Playtime isn’t just for children!
Just as it’s healthy and important for children to blow off steam, learn, experiment and make friends while playing, the same is true for adults. The joy that comes from letting your inner child roam will ground you and reaffirm the little things to be grateful for in life. Be sure that this joy will flood through every facet of your life and keep you peaceful
You can still work hard while being playful.
Playfulness means being able to explore and do things for the sheer delight of doing them. Shouldn’t work be like that? Life is far, far too short not to be working in an environment that delights you.
Playfulness also means relaxing and allowing a situation to carry you where it will. Did you know you could be just as effective while working if you worked out of a place of joy, peace and restfulness because when we have a playful attitude, learning and discovery are fun! And in turn, hard work is made easier to cope with.
You don’t have to dramatically change your life to be able to have fun again.
The idea that you have to take up some new hobby or move to the other side of the world to be happy creates its own kind of untruthful pressure. This pursuit doesn’t need to be extreme. It’s all about finding a happy medium but if for some reason you can’t make room in your daily schedule for playtime, try instead to add fun things into your day-to-day routine. Maybe it’s going out of your way to pick a flower while running, or cranking up the funk on your digital radio while cooking and dancing your way through your kitchen, or deciding to have a night-in with your friends to strictly dance and be silly.
Games are still cool!
Don’t let the ingenious games of cards, Scrabble, Monopoly, Yahtzee and Charades be kept in the past any longer. They are still just as fun as what they were back in the day and are a great way to bond, be sociable and break down any barriers between other people. You might need brush up on your gaming skills but I promise you, playing these will be like a trip down memory lane for everyone and fun WILL be had when you PLAY!
Or you could gather friends to play some old-fashioned dodge ball, frisbee, soccer, beach cricket and hula-hoop. Not only are these great ways to let your inner kid run wild, you also get to add in exercise that keeps you entertained.
Don’t take yourself so seriously.
True playfulness is going to require being comfortable in your own skin and not caring what others might think of you if you want to play and have fun. Set yourself free of anything that bound you from having fun by getting out of your comfort zone. Quit reserving yourself from having fun with others or holding back from creating your own. Time is precious so don’t spend it boxing yourself in!
All in all, let this Monday Motivation serve as reminder to redefine your concept of adulthood. Just because you’re all ‘grown up’, doesn’t mean that you can’t let your hair down and be silly. In fact, we all need a daily reminder to keep these perceptions in check, because who would want to miss a precious moment of fun and happiness?
“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play” – Heraclitus.
So, go for it!
Don’t be afraid to play your little heart out and fill your life with FUN. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain for joy has no limits!