Getting Serious About Play

by Dr. Wini Curly

Serious. That is what the past fifteen months have been. Very. Serious. It has been necessary for us to be focused on our physical safety and wellbeing. If you are like me, you are tired of the heaviness of staying vigilant and are ready to be done with: wearing masks everywhere, staying home, attending endless virtual meetings, and being isolated from family and friends. And yet, it is still important to stay safe. How can we find a better balance between what is necessarily serious/heavy vs. what brings enjoyment and is lighter?

Play lightens up the energy, and it has rarely been a priority during this time. In fact, it may have seemed inappropriate or uncaring to be thinking about (or actually doing something about) being lighthearted or having fun during this pandemic. Now it is time to pay attention to our mental and emotional well-being and lighten up by getting serious about creating more opportunities for play.

A definition of play may seem obvious, and here is what I mean: Play is an activity that engages your right brain’s ability to be imaginative, act intuitively, be adventurous, and engage your heart and emotions for pleasure and enjoyment.

In addition, you may also need your left brain’s analytical skills for logical order, detail orientation, caution, and language. It is combining and engaging all those aspects of you that brings balance.

The pandemic has caused many of us to rely heavily upon our left brain - the analytical engine that drives our questions, concerns, and caution. Being seriously leftbrained helped you stay safe and find ways to handle temporary or long-term changes in your roles in work and home life. Now you can come back into better balance with your right brain, the creative side that allows you to lighten up the heavy, weighty energy of your left analytical brain. Play is the perfect vehicle to get back into a more balanced way of interacting with others or just being with yourself. You may think of play as a distraction that gives you a true break from work and important things. Typically, that involves larger chunks of time to do things like travel, play golf or other games, go out with friends, or attend to self-care activities like getting a haircut or massage.

While those ‘big activities’ definitely have value, they aren’t always practical. You can also lighten your energy by creating smaller moments of play throughout your day. Play is often contrasted with work as either-or, which means if you are doing one, you are not doing the other. I challenge you to find ways to incorporate small play experiences into your day-to-day activities. Incorporating more moments of play does not mean that you become less responsible or productive. It does mean that your day has more pleasure and enjoyment. It is possible to add the energy of play to almost anything you do.

For example, when doing administrative tasks - like preparing invoices - feels heavy and I am grumpy about it, I use my memory and imagination to embody the enjoyment I felt in delivering the service to the client. I feel grateful that I am fortunate to enjoy what I do for work. When I am working on an article, I use colored stickies or markers on my whiteboard to organize or outline points. The colors feel playful and enjoyable for me.

What are things you like to do that bring lightness or enjoyment to the heavier parts of your day? Incorporate those moments of play into your work activities for a more balanced experience. If, at first, you find it hard to blend play into your work, then create moments of play during your day as a reward between tasks or a way to shift from being stuck or feeling heavy.

Combining elements from above - like taking a walk outside or moving to music - can enhance the impact and value of your moment of play.

The key to reaping the benefits of play’s lighter moments, no matter how you are doing it - big or small - is to connect it through both your brain and heart to activate enjoyment.

Getting out of the heavy habits requires some self-awareness, which isn’t always easy. How you see yourself is colored by your judgments of yourself. If you do have the good fortune to have a caring partner or friend who can help you see yourself more clearly, then ask them to be part of your project to expand play.

When a task gets heavy, and you are stuck and unable to move forward, practice stopping and walking away. Find a moment of play, and then go back to work with a fresh mind and heart. Many of my clients need specific support in making this shift, and we work out steps they can activate progressively.

As you practice consciously creating more opportunities for play, you will notice they pop up and present themselves more and more frequently. Embracing play will bring more balance and enjoyment to your dayto-day experience.

SOME PROVEN ENERGY LIGHTENERS ARE:

Laughter! Watch something on YouTube that makes you laugh. Talk to a friend for a few moments that gives you an uplift in your energy. Move or wiggle your body. Listen to music to shift your perception and your energy. Go outside in nature and look around. Take a deep breath. 1. Feel tired or lethargic, and you haven’t really ‘done anything.’

2. Hear yourself thinking or saying out loud – I don’t have fun anymore.

3. Find yourself feeling stuck in a rut of routine.

4. Need a lift in energy or attitude because you are in a ‘funk.’