Elevating Life with FUN & PLAY

The Role of Fun in Our Lives

“Play is the highest form of research” - Albert Einstein

We start out in the world experiencing and learning through discovery. This process is natural and guided by our curiosities.

We experiment, discard, and decide what it is that we want through fun, play, and the joy we experience.

As we learn to fit into boxes and meet the expectations of ourselves, the world, or those around us, it’s easy to forget this. We can get out of touch with how to find enjoyment even in things we used to have fun doing.

As adults, many of us go through a rediscovery process of what we find fun, as it can easily be forgotten as our roles in the world get more defined and who we are can get less so.

The more we reconnect with this aspect of ourselves and find joy in our day to day lives, the easier it is to let loose. This allows us to rediscover that sense of creative exploration that comes so naturally when we are younger. In turn, we become reconnected with ourselves.

What we consider to be fun changes throughout life, and as we evolve we learn more about how to challenge ourselves and learn through this process.

Bringing Fun into Our Vocations

“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing” 
- Dale Carnegie

Work and fun have historically been seen as incompatible.

There is a reason it’s called “work.” The word itself feels strenuous. I’ve discussed before about how I prefer the word “vocation.” It feels like it’s more of a calling.

Whether our work is, in fact, our vocation is a separate topic, but I think the distinction matters.

If we’re seeking our vocation, then there is an aspect of it that feels more attuned and has a sense of ease. By ease, I don’t mean easy. I mean, with less resistance and more flow. Whereas, the word “work” itself feels like a constant swim upstream.

By moving in a direction of joy, we’re allowing ourselves to live a life that searches for this even in what is traditionally seen as “mundane.” We can make our vocations or work (with intention, effort, and possibly great change) more joy-filled, more fun, and certainly more sustainable long term.

We are lucky enough to live in a time where we can custom make careers online.
It’s not exactly a streamlined process, and it’s certainly not easy, but if done right, we can do this in a way that is custom made for our specific needs.

Learning in a meaningful way through play

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct” - Carl Jung

By exercising our creativity and learning through play, we literally shape our brains. We strengthen our cognitive skills, memory, problem solving and critical thinking at minimum.

Different types of play strengthens our reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and motor skills.

It encourages adaptability, resilience, self-directed learning, risk-taking, intrinsic motivation and the list goes on.

The ways we get stronger by incorporating joy, fun, and play not only make life better, but also make us healthier. Play, fun, and joy make us smarter.

The benefits of play extend beyond immediate enjoyment and are essential to our long term health and well being.

Incorporating fun, play, and joy into our days in a natural way can significantly enhance our lives, wellbeing, and even productivity.

Let’s delve deeper into this topic in our upcoming Space!

Join us in the conversation

Later today, we will be digging more into this with a Space called:

“The Power of FUN & PLAY”

To help lead what promises to be a very FUN conversation, I’m lucky to have Katie Musgrave as co-host. Katie does great work as an English Specialist, is a deep thinker, a wonderful speaker, and also hosts lively X Spaces on a variety of topics.
You can learn more about Katie’s work and her newsletter, ‘Craft Polish’, here.

Be sure your reminders are set and join us as a speaker or listen in!

Date: Friday May 24th
Time: 6 EST
Location: X Spaces

Looking forward to all the fun!

See you soon,

Daniela :)