I had an awesome time speaking with the awesome women of the WEDC yesterday. The WEDC stands for the Women's Economic Development Council. Their mission is strengthen the position of women in business and the community.
They were a lot of fun! My talk was about the importance of play in making connections with others. I would like to ask you the same question I asked them.
What was your favorite way to play when you were a kid?
Take a minute or so and come with a few ways you used to play. That question is pretty easy. The second question, not so much. The next question is:
Why don't you do those things now?
Play can help us in so many ways! It increases imagination, improves emotional well-being, helps you form new friendships and business relationships. It can also be great for stress reduction and I think we could all use some of that nowadays.
But how do we play? Stuart Brown from the National Institute For Play says play is something that is done voluntarily, for pleasure, is engaging, and it is done for it's own sake. You don't have to have an end goal in mind for once!
Here is your homework for the weekend:
1. Decide what play is to you
2. Schedule a time to play
3. Go play!
Here are just a few examples:
-Host family game night
-color
-dance
-read
-sing
-listen to music
-go to a park
-go for a hike
-watch a movie
There are thousands of things you can do that are considered play! Now I won't complain if you multi-task and somehow work some physical activity into your play, but it is not mandatory.
Go out and play without concern for how you look, what others think, or even what you might think you look like. Life is too short to not make it enjoyable.
"The opposite of play is not work, it is depression."