During the last couple of weeks Thom and I have been staying in Baja Mexico at an oceanfront condo. We came here to escape the excessive heat of summer in our hometown of La Quinta. We found a reasonable rental where we can enjoy the cooler weather, get outdoors and still accomplish our daily work schedule.But even better than a more temperate climate is the enjoyment we are having by changing our routine, getting outdoors, and hanging out with new and old friends. It’s fun—pure and simple. And while playing and having fun might seem to be frivolous and extravagant in times of climate crisis, a struggling economy and political and social unrest around the world, play is much more than that. In fact, playing just might be the antidote to all those problems, plus much, much more.
Outrageous claim? Maybe. But the idea first came to me after reading yet another chapter in the book Essentialism—The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. Surprisingly, McKeown makes a case for the importance of play in the lives of anyone wanting to live a more simple, more fulfilled and meaningful life. And after reading what McKeown has to say, and discovering others like Daniel Pink and Dr. Stuart Brown who agree with him, I am now equally convinced that it’s true.
Defining Play
But what exactly do I mean by play? McKeown’s definition of play is defined as “anything we do simply for the joy of doing rather than as a means to an end—whether it’s flying a kite or listening to music or throwing around a basketball…” Author Suzanne Miller says that play, “…is an attitude of throwing off constraint.” And just as in last week’s blog post when I explained how there are many benefits to the act of creating beyond getting paid cash, play and having fun is usually an inner-motivated and voluntary activity independent of traditional goals and outcomes. What I read over and 
over was how the importance of playing and having fun should never be underestimated.
Benefits To Play
Here are seven reasons to include fun and play in our lives on a regular basis:
#1 Improves personal health. According to Dr. Stuart Brown, “…research suggests that play is a biological necessity.” Both adults and children who regularly play in a physical way are directly impacted by improved health. A short list of benefits include:
- Weight maintenance,
- Reduced risk for cardiovascular disease
- Strengthened bones and muscles
- Decreased risk from some cancers
- Improved balance and agility
- Increased chances of living longer
- Counteracts depression and can prevent recurrence.
#2 Leads to brain plasticity and higher function. Dr. Brown in his book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates The Soul states that play actually makes us smarter. (You KNOW we liked that!) Brown states that there is a positive link between brain size/frontal cortex development and play. During play, the brain engages in simulations and grows connections that did not exist before.
Also interesting is that play deficiency can lead to ill health and mental illness. Brown’s research shows that severe play deprivation was evident in the lives of studied homicidal males in Texas. Play deprived children often grow up to be troubled adults who also cannot play.
#3 Makes us adaptable and resilient both personally and in business: Marty Anderson recently wrote an article in Forbes Magazine 
entitled, “The Power of Play…How to Revive the Largest Economy in the World.” He writes, “With very few exceptions the truly sustainable organizations are ones that Play. They have fun. They make life fun for their customers and suppliers.” Anderson emphasizes the benefits of play along with many other outliers who are saying the same these days. Sadly he admits that on a national level we have “almost completely outlawed play…we measure our social activity in billable hours and money…We work for elusive shareholder value, not for the joy of our customers and families.” Innovation suffers and so do we all.
#4 Enhances learning and creativity. Dr. Randa Grob-Zakhary, CEO of the LEGO Foundation says, “Play allows us to test our capabilities, as all forms of learning should. It stimulates children’s learning abilities by fostering creativity, building critical thinking, sparking intellectual curiosity, and facilitating learning by doing.” But it isn’t just children who benefit—we all do. The famed Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget once wrote, “Play is the answer to the question: how does anything new come about?” Even better, Albert Einstein said, “Play is the highest form of research.”
#5 Improve personal relationships. Simply put, play helps us get along with others. Premier child researcher and play theorist Brian Sutton-Smith believes that play is essential for social development, a sense of equality, connectedness, and concern for those around us. Play also allows us to work as a team, compromise when necessary, develop trust and accept differences in others, empathize, become generous, and to cooperate automatically with those around us. Unfortunately the opposite is true. Those who don’t play become anti-social, narcissistic and often unhappy and destructive people.
#6 Improve business outcomes: McKeown is convinced that play fuels engagement and exploration at work in three specific ways. First he says, “Play broadens the range of options available to us.” Second, “Play is an antidote to stress,” which allows us to embrace the freedom of trying new things. Finally, McKeown writes, “play has a positive effect on the executive function of the brain.” This executive function includes such critical business skills as planning, prioritizing, anticipating, delegating, prioritizing, deciding and analyzing. Each of these skills vastly improves the business environment.
#7 Transformation. Because play gives us the freedom to go beyond normal constraints, be adaptive, quirky and open to variables within a flexible “field” of pleasurable and unexpected outcomes, we ripen ourselves for transformation. Without play we hunker down in tiny little boxes of conventionality where imagination is lifeless.
Why Don’t We Play?
What became evident for me as I explored the value of play and fun in our lives is how the mechanistic focus of our culture colors how we view play in the first place. Think about it. Machines can’t play—only living beings play. If we think of our lives, our schools our businesses or any part of it as machines that must be fed and are lifeless, play becomes trivial and irrelevant. Only by embracing our human nature and the fact that our biology, including our connection to mother Earth, is a living, breathing entity, can we reap the full benefits of a playful life.
Our aversion to play is also evident in our distrust and fear of leisure. In many ways that is a throwback to our Puritan forebears who say work, not play, was the key to success. In some ways hard work was even a key to salvation. Nowadays, economic forces keep our noses to the grindstone in an 
effort to trivialize play and keep us ironically working hard to buy more and more stuff so we can enjoy ourselves and have fun.
But Dr. Stuart Brown reminds us, “Our adult biology remains unique among all creatures, and our capacity for flexibility, novelty and exploration persists. If we suppress this natural design, the consequences are dire. The play-less adult becomes stereotyped, inflexible, humorless, lives without irony, loses the capacity for optimism, and generally is quicker to react to stress with violence or depression than the adult whose play life persists. In a world of major continuous change (and we are certainly facing big changes economically now) playful humans who can roll with the punches and innovate through their play-inspired imaginations will better survive.”
A Few Ways To Play
So what’s the solution? Play! Can’t think of any ways to do it? Here’s a VERY short list:
- Go dancing for the shear joy of movement. (no goal-like exercise in mind!)
- Find kids or pets to play with on a regular basis!
- Act silly and improvise. (Refuse to care what others think!)
- Play a game without caring who wins or loses. (competition is a play-killer!)
- Laugh and tell jokes.
- Go outside and just wander at will. Again—agenda seeking is a play-killer!
According to McKeown, play opens up our imagination and give us the mental freedom and space to go beyond our normal routines and limitations. The benefits are enormous. And while I hope I have shown that active play is critical for the physical and emotional health of us all, the biggest benefit is increased and sustained happiness on a daily basis. In fact, doing something fun just for the sheer pleasure of doing it, may be one of the SMARTest things you could do for yourself today.
Question: What’s at least one play-filled thing you do on a regular basis?
This reminds me to get a Styrofoam boogie board for the beach this weekend; my husband and I will use to “ride the waves” at a Rhode Island beach. I am 67 yo and he is 71 ! At a family gathering recently, the members could not believe we “still ride the waves” at our ages!! Why not? It’s play and it’s fun !!
Hi Joansgate! Thank you for sharing one of your favorite ways to play with us. And yes, who says we EVER lose our desire and need to play as we age! Good for you for enjoying the moment. I would love to see a photo of you both riding those waves. ~Kathy
You remind me about making fun a priority family in our day to day lives. Thanks for sharing some great and well researched information.
This is absolutely true and an excellent, well-researched post! I shared this onto my consulting page. Here is the link https://www.facebook.com/WindigenConsulting?ref
These are the concepts I teach in my rec and leisure classes at Sacramento State U. May I repost this to my Second Wind Leisure page (above link)?
Hi Terri! Glad you liked the post..it is so important for us ALL to remember to lighten up and play as much as possible. It is far too easy to take things too seriously–and while that’s good sometimes–it’s not a path to a happy life. And thanks also for sharing it with others. ~Kathy
A very good article; I’ve been a professional clown for 15 years, and I can validate what you’re saying. Somewhere along the way, we (as adults) stop playing, stop laughing — and it’s not something that we need to do.
Hi Tom! Thank you for stopping by SMART Living and sharing your professional thoughts on this. Staying happy and laughing needs to be a part of every person’s life and lucky you! You get to help people do that all the time. Thanks for your comment! ~Kathy
Thanks for the reminders on playing! It’s easy to minimize this aspect of life as we get so busy with other things.
Hi William! Thanks for stopping by SMART Living and leaving a comment. YES! It is far too easy to be super serious about everything but without laughter and happiness what’ the point? So what are you doing today to bring a smile to your face? It’s not too late….. ~Kathy
Hi Kathy,
You make smart living soud like fun living! I agree being happy is a part of smart living!
Hi Jason! Yes! SMART Living IS FUN living! Of course there are a lot of other rewarding aspects to it but that’s a good place to start. Thanks for stopping by! ~Kathy
My play – ‘puter games, and swimming. Which is also for exercise, true, but I am working hard to keep the attitude of doing it for fun and enjoying the silky feeling of the water gliding over my skin, rather than allowing it become a Task To Be Completed.
Yep, I too was raised with the Cinderella’s stepmother attitude… IF you get this long list of chores done, THEN you may go to the ball. But we can keep adding to the list without ever getting to the ball, so I am learning to schedule empty blocks of time for mindless whatever appeals to me in the moment.
Hi Beverly! I am glad to hear that you have some regular ways to play–even if the line of play and “goal” sometimes gets fuzzy. I think that is a challenge for many of us. I think a big way to test it is whether it makes you smile while (and after) you do it.
And I love the example of Cinderella and her stepmother. That at least is a more “fun” perspective than most religions offer. Consider Adam and Eve being cast out of Eden where they had to toil and labor for the rest of their earthly existence…pretty bleak. Yet we are reminded to “be as little children” if we want to get to heaven. Maybe the trick is to be as little children right now so we can experience heaven on Earth. Thanks for stopping by! ~Kathy
Hi Kathy,Here you again come up with an awesome article!!! 🙂
I’m completely agree with you about the playing concept, also with the reasons, I think play is the best source to keep one self happy and healthy. All the 7 reasons that you have mentioned here are really helpful and useful for us and we all must execute all these in our life to make our life happy and healthy.Thanks for sharing.Keep posting.
Hi Addison! Glad you liked the article! And I’m hoping that you don’t just READ about my reasons but actually get out and do something about it! 🙂
Keep playing! ~Kathy
Kathy, you have no idea how much that means to me! Thank you for your generous compliment! You’ve made my day!
cheers,
Nancy
You had me at play! 🙂
I probably spend more time trying to figure out how to do less work and have more play than I should (considering my current ratios are pretty healthy!)!
Cheers,
Nancy
Hi Nancy! Yes, including play is critical and I think you know how to do that when you aren’t on some athletic mission (from God!) –Sorry I just had to throw that in Nancy cuz you do sometimes go to extreme in that regard!
I really do too, although my writing does tend to be a bit “serious”. I’ve always been jealous of writers who can make me laugh out loud and you are one of them! ~Kathy
I really enjoy your blog. It is funny– I got some guidance this weekend that I should play more.
Hi Lisa! Yes, it sounds like the Universe is sending you a message! So what are your plans now???? ~Kathy
I so agree with your post. My husband and I have instituted one day a week (our non-religious “Sabbath”) where we don’t do any work, just allow the day to unfold, do only things we enjoy (“play”). It is amazing how just one day refreshes me, gives me time to think, gives me new ideas and inspiration. Are you familiar with Diane Ackerman’s book “Deep Play.” If not, I highly recommend reading it. She has a deep understanding of the functions of adult play and what it looks like.
Hi Annette! What an excellent idea to devote one whole day to play. I think there is a great deal of wisdom in the idea of a Sabbath that far extends beyond religion too. And that of course reminds me of the great book “Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives” by Wayne Muller. Which I highly recommend. I have definitely heard of Diane Ackerman but not her “Deep Play.” There is another one to add to the list! Thanks! ~Kathy
My daughters came to visit this weekend. We have laughed talked and enjoyed each other the whole weekend.
Hi Mary! You gave a GREAT example of play! Thank you! Hanging out talking and laughing with friends is one of my best too. Keep it up! ~Kathy
Ahhh,
what a superb piece you’ve written.
I agree.
Play makes everything better…Even a marriage!
–One play thing? I love being around funny people. I love laughing so hard that I clap my hands like a monkey, tilt my head back, and almost pee my pants. Does this count?!! xxx
Hi Kim! Oh YES! play makes EVERY relationship better–especially marriage! And I love your suggestion on how to play. Being around good friends and laughing until you cry (or pee your pants) is a sure sign that you’re having fun. Be sure and squeeze that in this weekend if you can! ~Kathy
Play is so important adn we always forget to do it. We feel we have to be grown up. Great reminder, Kathy! I love it.
Hi Lisa! Yes, like you say, I think most of us KNOW that play is important but I think most of us need a reminder. I sure do. Sometimes I take things way too seriously! Hope you have lots of fun and play planned for yourself this weekend! ~Kathy
I love this post and the book Essentialism. I long for more simplicityand fun in my life and your post is a great encouragement. Thank you!
Hi Mary! Yes, I highly recommend Essentialism. It’s an easy read and really filled with good advice on simplifying one’s life. And it comes for a business like perspective so it is more than just another way to declutter your home. But whatever you do this weekend–be sure to include something fun! ~Kathy
I love this article! It’s so well written, and I love how you always take the time to define what you’re talking about and really get into the meat of the subject before you offer your list. You’re an awesome writer and always give me lots to think about! I think I’m going to go for a walk with my kids for no better reason than it’s a Friday and I want to. That counts, right?
Hey Sarah! Thank you! Glad you liked the post and you KNOW that I’m always happy when I get my readers to think! 🙂 And yes, please got play with your kids! I found some of the most fascinating research about how important it is to play with your children. Not only can they help you as an adult, you encourage them to do the same and give them permission to just “be.” Have a VERY FUN FILLED WEEKEND! ~Kathy
As a wannabe writer, I sometimes have a hard time distinguishing between work and play. Although, I know I played today — a special lunch out and a visit to the Art Museum with my husband, his nephew and new bride. That was fun!
Hi Joy! I agree that sometimes writing is the most fun thing I can find to do–but then other times I KNOW I need to get outside and/or MOVE! And it sounds like you did a perfect thing by having a FUN time with your husband, nephew and his wife. Spending time with people I love and enjoy is VERY HIGH on my list of fun. Enjoy your weekend! ~Kathy
Great reminder about making fun a priority in our lives, each and every day. Sometimes we lose sight of how important it s to our physical and mental health.
Hi Helene! If I do nothing more than remind others (and myself!) that we need to have fun then this post has done it’s job. I was fascinated by learning how truly important it is to everyone. Thanks for stopping by! ~Kathy
Hi Kathy,
I am so fascinated by your ways of enjoyment and play! As we advance in age, we slowly forget all these activities, which are so essential not just for fun but for maintaining good health too. We become so jaded that fun filled life seems to be trivialising our serious pursuits.
I would still like to run after the butterflies, go out in pouring rain and run across the beach but often tell myself…am I still a child? So I sit quietly and just look at those inspirations, which keep me happy within!
Thank you for the reminders! Loved reading this.
Ah Balroop! Your ideas sound perfectly awesome! Don’t stop! I can just imagine you chasing butterflies and standing with your arms open wide in the pouring rain…and YES running on the beach! I think acting adult and sitting quietly is vastly overrated. Let’s make some noise while we can okay? ~Kathy
I was so much better at playing when the kids were little. Thanks for the reminder – going to find something to “play” this weekend!
Hi Lana! Yes, I read some really interesting things about playing with kids. They said that when kids had parents and lots of friends to play with when they are young they tend to be better “adjusted.” They also said that younger parents were better at playing than older parents. AND that second born and after were better at playing than first borns. Would you say that is true in your family? I find stuff like that fascinating! Whatever you figure out for this weekend…I hope is LOTS of fun! ~Kathy
This theory fits perfectly with my natural dork inclinations. 🙂 I think pets are a perfect play opportunity. They can’t share what you say to them on social media, nor do they have the opposable thumbs required to operate a camera.
Hi Laura! Just reading your statement “natural dork inclinations” makes me smile. What if we all embraced that side of ourselves (cuz I tend to think most of us have one!) then we’d all be happier and so would those around us be as well. And yes, my dog Kloe is a VERY safe girlfriend cuz I never have to worry about what she’ll share about me! 🙂 ~Kathy
The distrust and fear of leisure – so sad and true especially when we’re building careers etc. I’ve been adding walking back into my life after a car accident a few years ago set me back. It’s wonderful to be out there again – and feels like play most days. Play is crucial, thanks for a great nudge.
Hi Cindy! Thanks for stopping by SMART Living and sharing your thoughts! Good for you for getting out and walking. I’m a big-time walker myself–of course having a dog makes it that much more important–but I feel so much better when I do it regardless of all the health benefits. I have tried walking on a treadmill but that just seems to be pointless, getting outside is good for the soul in so many ways. Keep it up! And yes, if you can find a way to smile and laugh today be sure and do it. Thanks again for stopping by! ~Kathy