“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.”~John Cleese
I used to have many more toys on my desk. Working in entertainment advertising, it was “right” to have toys on your desk. Somehow however, along the line, I have gotten more serious in my work and now take much less time out to play. Which is funny, since I often coach clients into allowing their more playful side to come out. But I don’t have a single toy at hand to pick up and play with.
How silly that we think toys are for children and that we lose our love of play as we grow older. Fun and play bring so much to our life and our work – more joy, more fulfillment, more enjoyment, and more success. We bemoan the fact that life isn’t more fun and that we’ve lost our creativity somewhere along the way. How much more enjoyable it would be if we simply allowed ourselves and others time to play? And how much more likely we would be to discover something new or create something wonderful? When we play we let go of boundaries, we boost our energy and we have fun. What could be more creative and wonder-full than that?
Where have you stifled your freedom to play? Or the freedom of others? How can you let go and allow play to be part of your life and your work? Find one thing really fun to do and do it. Find a partner at work and create time to play on the job. Pick one project or task that you’re working on, and incorporate an element of play into it.
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