Alright friends, as some of you know I decided to take a sabbatical leave due to a construction project happening with the building I work in. It has been a little over two weeks and I feel compelled to write about this topic today because I know it’s something that many of us could use more of: PLAY.
We all know the importance of play for children. Now, do you remember a time in your own childhood when you were utterly happy in an activity and lost in the moment as though it felt like time didn’t exist? Now take it to the present day. When was the last time you experienced this? Has it been awhile? If so, it’s okay because adulting is hard and life gets crazy busy. I believe that taking this much needed time off for myself brought up an awareness that all of us could really benefit from blowing off some steam by making it a priority to play more. Among its benefits, play can actually boost your creativity, help you not take life so seriously and can help you cope better with stress.
Any recreational activity that brings you joy and excitement counts as playing and just know that making time for it can have substantial benefits for your mental and physical well-being! In fact, studies have shown that spending more time doing things that bring you happiness and pleasure can have a lasting relaxing effect that helps you manage stress better, keeps you physically active and brings more life satisfaction. For the record, having some good old fashion fun is not a waste of time. If truth be told, it’s right up there with everything else we could be doing to maintain good health like eating well, moving our bodies, getting plenty of restful sleep and being part of community.
I understand that adulting can be extremely demanding and tough when we’re constantly going from one thing to the next but even setting aside 30 minutes per day for yourself is enough time to reap the benefits! It may not seem like a lot but so much FUN can happen within that period. Especially, if you are able to make it a consistent daily practice, I promise you that life will start to feel so much sweeter.
So, next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by your list of tasks or have the inclination to drop it all and flee the country, I encourage you to be selfish and let your inner child play!
In health and happiness,
Katrina