Summertime is a Season and a Reason to P L A Y. There is something magical that happens when the temperature heats up and the days become longer. The sights and sounds of Summer often include the beach with its ocean waves, splashes in the pool, picnics in the park, and outdoor evening concerts. There is a light breezy feel to Summer that seems ingrained in us from childhood. Maybe it’s the break from school days with homework or perhaps it’s the idea that the line between a weekday and a weekend blur as we savor Summer’s fluidity.
Inevitably this season provides little pockets of time that we try to maximize so we can squeeze every last ounce out of Summertime’s sweetness.
And what better way to soak it all up than to prioritize PLAY?
With advances in technology and the ever-expanding digital landscape, our traditional PLAY-grounds are shrinking. We live in a world of schedules and structure. Days seem filled with calendar invites, and iPhone alerts and reminders. Experts suggest unplugging and turning off notifications. Sure, that can be helpful, but what about the neurological itch telling us to be ‘on’ and to be ‘productive’; that nudges us to ‘get back to work’? This is the rewiring that PLAY can provide.
The loose timelines and carefree spirit of Summer is something we all need on a regular basis. Why wait all year to implement PLAY into our lives?
When we PLAY, we make time our ally. When we PLAY, our brains become a porous sponge. When we PLAY, our world expands. When we PLAY, we grow.
Research shows us that our brains learn from active experiences and that PLAY is essential to education and growth. New neural pathways are developed by PLAY and these are the networks and wiring that our brains use to gain new understanding. When we think of the concept of PLAY, try to see it as a light switch being turned on. There is an immediate activation that happens with PLAY.
Benefits to one’s growth and development include problem-solving and reasoning, collaboration, and logic, as well as improved language and mathematical skills. During one’s early years, and continuing through to teen years and young adulthood too, prioritizing PLAY is critical for leading a balanced and fulfilling life.
As Parents, we strive to raise well-adjusted human beings who contribute to the world. PLAY provides the landscape where key qualities such as independent thinking, perseverance, active listening, and resilience can be fostered. For social, emotional, physical, and academic development, there is no better vehicle than PLAY.
Much like my kids, I enjoy active experiences and will find any excuse to PLAY. Through my two children’s eyes, I have had the pleasure and the privilege to experience life more intensely and richly by making time to PLAY. As a Parent, and as a person, I have been redefining what PLAY means to me. From the early days of imaginary PLAY, I have grown to see that PLAY can encompass any time I am engaged in an experience or activity for enjoyment and recreation. The structure of PLAY used to look flat, like cards or board games, with a set of rules to follow. However, at a young age, I realized that Games took on a different meaning for me if I allowed my mind to wander.
It was my innate Curiosity that pushed me to redefine how I PLAY these Games. Soon I expanded the scope of how, where, and why I PLAY. And that habit of continually shape-shifting PLAY has stuck with me today. It is at the Core of my work with groups and clients at Next Chapter Coaching.
Understanding the necessity of PLAY and the gifts it can garner in your days will open the door for more opportunities. Living a life filled with PLAY and Curiosity enables and empowers us. Truly I believe it is one’s actions and experiences that define who they are at their Core. Live and PLAY with a Curious mindset in all aspects of life. Developing this healthy habit, especially in these Summer months, where PLAY is at our fingertips, will enable growth and expansion always, in all ways.
Your Next Chapter is all about PLAY, and using your Curiosity to guide you. While you are soaking up the sun these Summer days, remember to make time to PLAY. This Season, make it your Reason to delve deeper and to refine the Game of Life for yourself. It’s about PLAYful Curiosity and exploring more with the questions we allow ourselves to ask of others, of our surroundings, of our community, and of ourselves. There is no better time to P L A Y than Today!
Hope you continue to stay Curious and PLAY throughout these Summer days...
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