WELLBEING
T H E POW ER O F PL AY Whe n wa s t he la st t i m e y o u t r uly pla ye d? And w hy s ho uld a dult s pla y? Lu ci an a B e l l i n i m e e t s posit i ve - psyc ho lo gy pla y c o nsult a nt Je ff H a r r y, to disc uss t he po we r o f le t t i ng lo o se
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IMAGE: PEXELS/JASMIN CHEW
hen was the last time you played? I don’t mean the last game of tennis with friends, or office football match. I mean the last time you let loose and allowed your imagination to run free; the last time you abandoned yourself to play, like children do. If you’re anything like me, the concept of play is something you left behind in your childhood and is something you make little time for in your busy, hectic grown-up life. But studies reveal that engaging in play, just for the sake of it, is something we should all be doing as adults, thanks to its myriad benefits to our physical and mental health. ‘As adults, we are constantly being told to be perfect, and I see play as the opposite of perfection,’ says Jeff Harry, a positive-psychology play consultant. ‘We are constantly hearing negative voices in our head and in the media telling us not to be ourselves. Play connects us back to who we are. Play connects us back to our inner child, who reminds us how to embrace our whole selves, including all the imperfections and flaws.’ Play is similar to meditation in that it helps us focus on the moment and reset our perpetually exhausted adult minds. Being present is something that doesn’t come easy to most of us, but fully engaging in an act of play forces you to focus on the task at hand and nothing else. ‘Philosophers from Plato to Jean Piaget to Friedrich Schiller have all acknowledged that play is the catalyst for all art, invention, new connections and innovation,’ writes author Meredith Sinclair in her book Well Played: The Ultimate Guide to Awakening Your Family’s Playful Spirit. ‘Play ignites our minds in ways only it can.’ »
‘Philosophers from Plato to Jean Piaget to Friedrich Schiller have all acknowledged that play is the catalyst for all art, invention, new connections and innovation,’ 69