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Lighten Up: Why is it So Hard to Let Yourself Play?
Episode 1093rd November 2022 • The Humanist • Chad Prevost
00:00:00 00:37:27

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We have put “play” as one of our Big Self pillars from the very beginning, but I don’t think we’ve done a single episode on it.

We do talk about creativity and gratitude. But that’s not quite the same thing.

For one thing, it’s hard to really define what we even mean by play.

In fact it’s so elusive to really define for adults, even after I had decided we definitely need to do an episode on play, I started wondering if this is really something our audience needs or wants. We’re talking about serious stuff on this podcast, stuff that is going to help people in their pain, in their crisis’. And then we realized, that experience is the very process we undergo for YEARS as we transition into adulthood.

Important for us or not, play can feel silly, certainly unproductive, and time consuming. 

And that’s precisely the point. On today’s episode we are going to do the impossible: we are going to seriously persuade you to PLAY.

This better be fun.

Time Stamps:

3:04--Let me ask you a question about play

6:28--Great questions, but how are defining play?

10:59--There's a lot of variability in the definition of play

13:12--There are "four different styles of play"

21:30--In which Shelley geeks out on the parasympathetic nervous system

29:24--Quote by Jean Piaget

33:32--3 suggestions for play

Show Notes and Links:

American Journal of Play

Play by Stuart Brown, MD

Well Played: The Ultimate Guide to Awakening Your Family’s Playful Spirit by Meredith Sinclair

National Institute for Play

A list of research on play

Stuart Brown’s TED talk on play

Scott Eberle’s blog “Play in Mind”

Play definition

Study: “A new structural model for the study of adult playfulness: Assessment and exploration of an understudied individual differences variable

Study: The Playful Advantage: How Playfulness Enhances Coping with Stress

Study: The well-being of playful adults: Adult playfulness, subjective well-being, physical well-being, and the pursuit of enjoyable activities

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