Learning How to Play Again

I used to be someone who had a knack for play. But somehow over the years, it seemed that play started to escape me.

I became so focused on becoming a good “adult” that I lost touch with my playful nature.

This cascaded into all areas of my life — work got intense, my relationships got serious and I got so hard on myself. When I lost my playful nature, I lost the fun out of life and I lost a piece of myself.

This was a piece that looked at life like an adventure.

This was a piece that was connected to creativity.

This was a piece of myself that knew deep down that we were only here for a lifetime and why not enjoy the heck of it?

I think this story is sad and yet all too true for adults.

Once we grow up and go out on our own, we have to “man” up. We have to to get serious and focused about our lives. And we loose play.

But really where’s the good in that? Do we really want to look back on our lives and think “I’m sure glad I was so serious about that!” Or do we want to look back and think “Wow, that was a good ride?” Personally, I would rather opt out for the second one.

So if you also feel the same way, here’s a couple of ideas to experience a little bit more play:

Playing dress up: As a young person, did you ever like to play dress up? I certainly did. I loved it more than anything. I used to play dress up with my sister and I would pretend to be a model around the house while she would take pictures of me. So why not use this as an opportunity to bring that joy back? One thing I love to do to inspire clothing ideas is go on Pinterest and look around for outfit inspirations. I love looking at some of the influencers outfit ideas and experimenting in my mind with new styles and additions that I can add to my wardrobe. I pin those photos and then add them to my shopping list. This can be extremely fun and not to mention, you might inspire some new personalities of yourself through your wardrobe.

Relationships: As kids, we knew the joy of finding people to play with. Wasn’t it so much fun running around on the playground finding your playmates? But somehow as we age, we start to think that our adult relationships need to be a bit more serious and structured. But where is the fun in that? Sure these days you can’t play on the swings with your friends and partners, but you can do other things! Instead why not go and explore the cities you live in, travel, go to the theatre, or dance all night long with your friends. I mean there are so many opportunities as adults to play. And now you have the money to do it. So why not grab this opportunity?

Try a new hobby: Lastly, I think that trying a new hobby can always inspire new ideas for play. How many times have you had the thought — “oh I want to do XYZ — it would be so much fun!” But then the brain kicks in and comes up with a thousand reasons why you can’t do that. I’m certainly guilty of this one. So why not challenge those assumptions or fears and find a way to do something fun for yourself. Even if you are limited on time, try even 20 minutes and build up. That 20 minutes can go aloooong way to add joy and play in your life. If you’re limited on examples of new things to try — here can be a kick start: learning a language, taking up a new creative hobby, cooking, learning a new dance or taking a new course. These are just a couple of ideas to inspire your own!

So like anything else, remember this is just a skillset to build up. Building in play into your life can start small. But over time, as you start to notice more opportunities for play, the habit will keep building and building into your life. Until one day, you may find that your life looks even more playful and more enjoyable than you could have ever imagined.

I would love to hear from you! Have you been stuck around play? Is there anything that helped you to add a little bit more play into your life? Share in the comments below!