27. Embrace Playfulness: Unlocking Creativity and Joy in Work and Life

Is it time to lighten up? To stop taking everything so seriously? Sure, there are some serious things going on in the world and in our personal lives. But is that email really that serious? Is that proposal really that serious? Is that new job really that serious? Is what you’re wearing really that serious?

When I suggest we take things less seriously, that doesn’t mean we throw caution to the wind and move forward with reckless abandon.

It doesn’t mean we stop putting in effort and stop caring about things that are important to us.

It doesn’t mean we ignore the very real challenges we may be facing.

It means that we take a more playful approach

Playfulness – the lost art of childhood.

It involves:

• Lightness, laughter, fun
• Experimentation, learning, risk taking
• Enjoying the process, failing, moving on fast
• Creativity, imagination, ideas
• Expansion, growth, excitement

?? Can you approach your project, like this?

?? Can you approach your job interview, like this?

?? Can you approach life, like this?!

It may take practice, but it’s available to us.

These wonderful states of mind, levels of consciousness, ways of being, offer us many wonders – not least, more resilience, flexibility, wellness, happiness and enjoyment.

They also offer us better results as we move from hardened, stiff, rigid states of mind that only keep us trapped in what we already know, to free flowing, adventurous, expansive states of consciousness that bring in new ideas, new experiences, new behaviours and new results.

I was about to say: “perhaps for anything that isn’t a life-or-death situation, we can be more playful”. But I retract that statement, because I think the energy of play and the vitality it brings us, is incredibly healing, repairing and connective. It’s such a powerful state of consciousness, that perhaps it could solve some of the direst problems in our lives.

How might you bring more playfulness into your workplace?

Here’s an opportunity for you to get playful as you ponder this question… let go of logic and use your imagination. Maybe get out a pen and paper and start scribbling and drawing out some ideas. Give your body a shake, have a little dance, bring your inner child to the surface and let go... what ideas come to you?

Here’s some things that come to my mind:

• Instead of giving solutions and directions - give challenges and let people play with them, you never know what they might come up with
• Allows mistakes and failures - they are a very important part of the creative process that will ultimately lead to success, don't be afraid of them
• Get hands on – rather than long Word documents and meetings full of talking, get interactive, use more physical aids, visuals, creative tools, pens, drawing, Lego, get people engaging with their bodies and their imagination, not just their logical minds
• Have ‘fun’ projects that are not business critical – e.g. you could ask your team to come up with a new product or to design their dream office; these are not necessarily going to be implemented so there’s no pressure on it, it’s just a playful, fun, creative exercise
• Use humour – is there way you and your colleagues can laugh more?!

In a world filled with seriousness, I think it's time we rediscover the lost art of playfulness. From lightness and laughter to experimentation and growth, I truly believe a more playful approach can transform our daily experiences at work and at home.

???? What playful workplace ideas did you come up with?

?? Share them in the comments below!

With love,

Pinky

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