Permission to Play

You know the difference between Country Western music and Hip Hop, don't you?

Each has its special rhythm, feel or vibe.  Each lends a different mood to the party.

Same with work and play.  Each has its mood, feel and vibe.

The vibe of work is:  hard.  Obligatory.  We procrastinate.  We "have to".  We can't wait 'til quitting time.  We do it because we get paid.  

Do that for 10, 20 or 30 years and it can kill the spirit, know what I mean?

What's the alternative to the lackluster tedium of work?

First (and ultimately challenging) is:  find a way to turn work into play.  This approach will entirely revamp your approach to life, I promise.  When you place pleasure and play before the "work" mindset, you invite spirit into your life.  You no longer "have to" like a victim does.  Now you can "choose to", as a creative force.

It feels like this, for example:  I have a writing project with a deadline but I resist focus.  I'm sidetracked.  I notice I'm suffering, procrastinating.  

So I pause.  "What would make this fun?", I wonder.  At that moment, I invite play.  

Adding play, I'm choosing a life-giving ingredient, Vitamin F (for Fun).  Fun shifts my approach immediately, 180 degrees.  A game is afoot!!

Like a dog whose owner tempts with a ball or a child peeking in hide-and-seek, my curiosity is aroused.  

As my curiosity is piqued, my intelligence actually increases.  My alertness heightens.  My breathing and pulse quicken.  

Humans are playful and mostly respond to a game positively.  Similarly, we respond to the daily grind by numbing ourselves.

In my example, I suddenly wondered, “who am I writing this for?”  Is someone making me do it?  No, I realize.  I'm writing it for myself.   No one is making me, I'm at choice!  Then I wonder, how much fun can I have with my words, my keyboard, my own curiosity?  The whole project shifts from "getting it done" to "enjoying my time."  

In between writing, I added Vitamin F.  I texted a sexy message to my lover. Opened mail and found an unexpected check for me.   Read a page or two of a recently-delivered purchase, "Autobiography of an Orgasm."  Posted a hot question on FB.   Even called a potential project partner and an adventure buddy.  All this WHILE writing the article!  

Instead of procrastinating, I directed my energy to infuse pleasure into the task.  All these seeming sidetracks added energy and creativity to my chore.  I call that “mixing it up”.    I even dubbed myself a new title:  Maestro of Play!

Does this feel easy or hard to you?  To me, it was easy!  All I did was notice that I was suffering.  Then I chose to have fun with the task.  If you observe any child, animal or lighthearted human, they’ll show you: playing is not hard!  The light in their eyes will show you, as well.

So permission to play, granted.  I can't wait for you to feel the joy and relief when you make YOUR CHOICE to enjoy your time, rather than suffer!

And here I am, 500 words into my blog.  Easy, effortless.  Getting it done with no resistance.  

I'm here to remind you, you have a choice about how you approach your tasks and your day.  Switch on the vibe of play if you're tired of business as usual!