Are you Maximizing the Power of Play in Your Business and Life?
Guest Post by Amy Miyamoto
When Kim initially asked me to contribute a post here, I had a flurry of ideas about all the practical, logical, and helpful posts I might write. But over the last couple of weeks since our conversation, each time I have sat down to write one of these practical, logical and helpful posts, I was hit with a whole lot of stuck.
Initially, I couldn’t articulate the reason for my resistance…yet over the last few days I have become increasingly aware of the culprit. My first bit of awareness came from my observations of recent conversations with some of my clients and colleagues, (all of which are up to great things in the world.) Yet, I noted that the tone in their voices, although focused and dedicated, were all missing something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Until one conversation where a friend of mine was outlining her five year plan to grow her business which would then enable her to “finally start enjoying the fruits of her labor” which included more time for herself to start having more fun.
It was at that moment that I was struck with the question: “What is keeping her from choosing more fun and joy right now?“ As I offered this question to her we explored what appeared to be a number of perfectly logical (and personally familiar) reasons why there just didn’t seem to be enough time, energy, or resources to indulge in a “big” chuck of fun right now.
This concept of “bigness” is something I have heard referenced before by many of my clients…the idea that in order to qualify as worth the effort, making room for fun or playtime feels like it has to be some big momentous event. And in this day and age of fast-paced lives and filled-to-the-brim schedules, I can certainly relate to the idea of needing to defer “play” time until the nebulous “later”.
It was during this conversation with my friend that something clicked for me. After all of my years of study and integration of success mindset I have come to understand that as powerful an ingredient that it is, there is still another key piece to the puzzle. If we do not also make the equally important choice of engaging and sharpening our “heart-set” skills it leaves some of the most powerful “juice” missing from the equation.
So what is the solution to choosing more joy NOW even with our fast-paced reality? For me, it starts with embracing the “Power of the Spoonful”. Yes a spoonful of joy, fun, and play today will have a ton more impact than gallons of joy “saved for later.” Our ability to savor joy “in the present moment” is a key muscle that needs to be exercised on a regular basis. If not, like any unused muscle, it can begin to atrophy, which shows up as the all too familiar symptoms of stress, anxiety, and overwhelm.
Now for a recovering over-achieving perfectionist (like myself) this can often be easier said than done…so it is something that I must continue to choose in order to recenter myself on a regular basis.
One of the approaches that supports me most in weaving more spoonfuls of playful joy into my daily experience is to start by making what I call my “Make’s My Heart Sing” list. For me, this list includes all of the things that I have either enjoyed in the past or present or have always had a hankering to explore yet have not yet had the opportunity. Another qualifier I use in crafting my list is to answer the question: “Is this something that would make my heart sing even if it never amounted in any financial gain or external acknowledgment?” If the answer is yes, I add it to the list.
A couple of favorite items that made it onto my own list include:
- Exploring my creativity through photography
- Dancing (just for the fun of it)
- Singing (just for the joy of it)
When I first created this list, I identified a number of ways that I might further incorporate these into my life. Some of these included: taking that series of local photography classes I’ve had my eye on, enrolling in a new exotic dance class, and downloading a long list of CD’s onto my lonely iPod. Although all reasonable, I realized many of these ideas required degrees of time, energy, or money that didn’t invite immediate integration into my day right NOW. So I hit the pause button and asked myself, “What might the first spoonful of each of these ideas look like that I could steep myself in right now…today?!”
Here is what I came up with:
- Photography: I can more regularly grab my camera and start snapping pics of my girls while they are outside in the backyard exploring the wonder of nature around them
- Dancing: I can fire up my Pandora.com, create a new Zydeco music channel that I tune into for my “just for the fun of it” dance breaks to every couple of hours during my work day. (I actually just did this while writing this post – and my energy, joy, and gratitude level just took a major leap upward.),
- Singing: Simply embracing the fact that I am a “Car-Singing Super Star” mom (even if only in my mind) who lights up while belting out all the classics with my girls as my loyal back up singers.
As preparation for this post I did a bit of a literature review on the power of play for adults and I found many impressive studies on the subject, my favorite you can read about here. For me, the most compelling argument in the literature can be synthesized this way: “When we choke off the pleasurable feelings that come from play – we choke off our vibration of abundance.”
Just the other day, I was presented with a pivotal moment, (where I had the opportunity to either embrace or choke off this vibration of abundance), when my daughter asked if we could all eat dinner outside on the patio instead of inside at the dinner table. Immediately, I found myself running through all of the logical arguments as to why bringing dinner outside might require more time, effort and hassle on my part (considering how dusty our patio furniture was I knew that a cleaning session would also be part of the mix as well.) Yet when I began to offer up these very rational contentions to my 4-year old she was less that convinced and followed up with a doe-eyed “Paaaleasssse?”
It was in that moment that I caught myself and mulled over my options… it quickly became clear that in choosing the outdoor scenario – while requiring a bit of de-dustifying up front – we would all get to experience the pleasure and novelty of enjoying our picnic with the gentle breeze blowing across our shoulders, the sun setting gracefully through the trees, while breathing in the beauty of our blooming flowers with the canyon view in the distance. It was in that moment that I chose to relish in the more playful route…and I even grabbed the camera and snapped some sweet shots of the girls chomping away on their outdoor fare with equal portions of delight on their little faces.
I was also delighted recently to read that Albert Einstein viewed play as one of the most important elements of success. And I’d be willing to bet my favorite flip flops that the man who introduced us to the Theory of Relativity couldn’t be too off base.
So what is one form of play/joy/fun that makes your heart sing?
What is the spoonful version that you might implement today to tap into the juiciness of life right now?
I invite you to share your favorite “spoonful of play” idea with us here in the comments section below so we might all benefit from your playful wisdom.
Amy Miyamoto specializes in working with entrepreneurial women to design a “New Groove” for their most fulfilling lives and businesses. You can connect with her on Twitter on Facebook or on her website.
Tags: Amy Miyamoto, incorporating fun into life, the power of play
