We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing. – George Bernard Shaw

“When did we decide to sit on the sidelines?”

My friend Sue asked this question while we were dangling our feet in the water, watching our kids play in the pool. For whatever reason, on that beautiful and very hot summer afternoon, we didn’t get ourselves permission to play.

That got us thinking…

We took things WAY too seriously. And we took ourselves too seriously too.

Think about it… When was the last time you splashed and giggled and did a cannon ball in the pool?

How often do you get so fully immersed in the joy of the moment that you truly don’t give a sh*t what anyone thinks of you?

We’ve bought into the notion that we need to keep our nose to the grindstone to be “successful” and we need to be “adult-like” to be taken seriously.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Research shows that when we are happy we experience more success in EVERY AREA OF OUR LIVES… AND when we enjoy regular playtime it not only makes us happier, it actually makes it much easier to make consistent progress on our goals. In fact, that is why I decided to infuse loads of fun into the deep work that we do at Camp Reinvention.

Stop sitting on the sidelines and dive in.

Your life is happening NOW. Enjoy it.

WRITING & REFLECTION:

When do you feel most fully alive?

What makes you really laugh?

What did you LOVE to do as a kid? If you haven’t done that in awhile, schedule a playdate in the calendar!