Having some fun is a seriously good idea

I love a good storm and this week’s drenching served up a beauty. A group of us were caught outside with little suitable shelter as the hail belted down. It was one of those “you can run, but you can’t hide” kind of moments. We huddled under an open-sided structure. Yeah, it didn’t help. Then made a dash for a plastic greenhouse. Cover, at last.

After the storm passed there was only one thing to do — make snow angels, of course. Um, whose idea was that? Talk about freezing. But it was fun, and the chill worthwhile, to soak in a moment of carefree abandon. When was the last time you had some good ol’ spontaneous fun, just for the sake of it?

We take life and work too seriously at times, often weighed down by schedules, to-do lists, worries and problems — usually other people’s. Perhaps spontaneity and playfulness is an antidote to it all. Play is something you do, just because. It might seem silly or immature but there are compelling reasons why adults should connect with their inner child.

In the book Well Played: The Ultimate Guide to Awakening Your Family's Playful Spirit, Meredith Sinclair advises us to “stop helicopter parenting” ourselves. Helicopter parenting — the term given to hyper-involved and overprotective parents — is known to stifle independence and problem solving and can increase feelings of anxiety in children, and parents, too.

We do it to ourselves by playing safe, too safe, for too long. Sinclair suggests it’s important to let yourself go and find things to do that “thrill and slightly alarm you”. Doing so helps to build confidence and buffers the mind and emotions against fatigue and stress. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love the dopamine hit that being a tad daring can bring? Further, a degree of risk is essential for growth and development. This is precisely the reason some companies have incorporated play into their workplace culture.

Games, tournaments, adventure and play help to build teams, strengthen social ties, develop greater cohesion and improve social competence. Additionally, play cultivates creativity, opens up new possibilities and fosters innovation — cha-ching. Aside from these benefits, research shows that employees who are given the opportunity to engage in both spontaneous and structured fun activities feel better at work, are less stressed and bored, and more engaged.

Many modern-day spiritual teachers even espouse the virtues of play, as an act of divinity, too. World-renowned Indian yogi and mystic, Sadhguru suggests too many people are “dead serious about life”. He reckons we ought to “loosen up”, laugh more and do things that aren’t all that important, for perspective sake — like making snow angels on the cold, hail-covered ground. Engaging in acts of play have been found to reduce mental chatter and overthinking, and enhance focus.

Induce what Dr Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes as “flow” states — a state of consciousness where time stands still and you are completely immersed in the moment. So perhaps it’s time you danced like nobody’s watching, jumped in puddles or walked in the rain. Maybe you should run wild on the beach or hold your child's hand as you skip down the street. Go karting or ten-pin bowling. Or organise a night in with friends and try your hand at a game of charades — that always guarantees a laugh.

Don’t overthink it, just do it. We have to be willing to drop the armour of our ego to find a sense of freedom and joy in life — embrace the spirit of play.

This article was first published in The West Australian in Renée Gardiner’s weekly column in Agenda, 20 August 2022.