Creative Play Opens Your Mind To New Possibilities

And it’s fun too!

Imagine for a moment that you are expected to engage in creative play. When you were a kid, you were supposed to play. That was your job. Playing was not seen as a waste of time, silliness, or an indulgence but as worthwhile activity and an act of creativity.

Playing helped you to learn about the world and yourself without preconceived notions. It helped you to use your imagination and thinking skills in a fun way.

“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -George Bernard Shaw

It seems to get harder as we get older to give ourselves that freedom to just play. I know I’m guilty. Do you ever start out by thinking you might try a new project or learn a skill but suck the fun right out of it by setting an expectation of what you need to accomplish?

Instead of enjoying the process, it becomes another unfinished project looming on your to do list. You won’t consider it successful until it’s done and good enough to show others.

What if you set aside some time to just play? No agenda. No expectations. Just a chance to try out something and experiment. Allow any outcome to be considered a success just because you gave yourself the opportunity to play. What’s the worst that could happen? You might just have fun.

It opens possibilities that are not there when your mind is focused on getting a specific result. And you also learn what doesn’t work which is very valuable information.

So, how about it? Can you give yourself a play date this week? Try something you’ve wanted to do and let go of any expectation of how it turns out.

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