FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE®️: IT’S TIME FOR PLAY
Do you remember hearing these words when you were a child? "Go out and play!"
Imagine telling yourself those words now. Do you know what you would do to 'go out and play'?
We associate play with children, but it holds great value for us as adults. Keep listening to hear why play is important for you in midlife and beyond and how you can re-energize your playful side.
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I'm Karli Newman and you're listening to FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE®️- a podcast for women in midlife and beyond who want to feel connected, hopeful, confident, and more satisfied with life than ever before.
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It's not uncommon for play to fade from our vocabulary and our lives over the years. By the time we land here in midlife and beyond, our long to-do lists and self-imposed need to feel productive have eroded the time and space needed to do something for no other reason than enjoyment.
Let's look at the benefits of play, and then I'll share some ideas for giving your playful side a boost.
You may want to take some notes, my friend, so have your journal, notebook, or favorite app ready to go. I'll include a time marker in the show notes and transcript so you can get right back here at a later time if you need to come back.
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So, why should you engage in play as an adult? Well, here are three benefits relevant for you in midlife and beyond.
First, play relieves stress. Chronic stress is proven to be detrimental to your health. Play can trigger the release of endorphins, which are your natural feel-good chemicals. These promote an overall sense of well-being and can temporarily relieve pain, believe it or not.
Play often leads to laughter, which has been linked to decreased stress and inflammation, and may improve vascular health. Play just may be your most effective and enjoyable stress reliever yet.
Second, play improves mental agility. Play stimulates the brain and promotes mental agility, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
Games that challenge the brain, such as chess and puzzles, can help prevent memory problems and improve thinking skills.
The third benefit I want to mention today is that play improves your quality of life. Incorporating play into your daily life enhances your joy and fulfillment. Play can provide a sense of vitality that you may find lacking.
Now that you know some of the benefits, here are a few ideas to help you tap into your playful side.
Explore new hobbies. What ignites your curiosity? What have you been saving for later? What do you miss from your past? Discover what you enjoy most and then create space for it. Focus on the joy you feel as you engage in your hobby, not only the outcome.
A new hobby is something you can lose yourself in. You've heard of the state of flow, right? Flow is when you're so engaged in an activity that time seems to stand still. You have no sense of time passing. Exploring new hobbies can help you find that state of flow more frequently.
Here's another way to tap into your playful side. Reconnect with your inner child. This is one of my favorites. Pull out crayons and a coloring book. Jump rope. Shoot hoops or make snow angels in the wintertime. Build a sand castle or jump over waves at the beach. Go to a park or a playground.
Honestly, when was the last time you sat in a swing or went down a slide? Chances are you have a neighborhood park or a playground within a few miles of you, if not a few blocks. Head there and try it out, my friend.
Another way to tap into your playful side is to play small. Playful people are those who seize the little opportunities that come along. This is an awareness shift. Pick a flower and smell its aroma, walk on the curb and pretend it's a tightrope, or lie down and see the shapes in the clouds.
Be in the moment and grab the small, playful opportunities that come along. It does require you to think differently. As you build your awareness, You'll see more and more of those small, playful opportunities around you. Be sure to seize them, my friend.
I encourage you to think about play over the next few days. Notice the small ways you can be more playful. Decide which hobbies you want to explore. Buy a box of new crayons or head to the park.
Decide where play is going to fit into your day or your week or your month and take small steps to make it happen.
Soon you'll be experiencing the benefits and realize how important play is for you in midlife and beyond.
I'd love to chat with you about how to tap into your playful side more often. I have time set aside on Wednesdays and Thursdays to answer your wellness questions, talk through your challenges, and pinpoint solutions.
My Wellness Hours are your chance to focus on your needs and walk away with action steps to get unstuck. Head to my website, flipsideofmidlife.com, to learn more and to schedule a time that works for you.
However you choose to play, it's a way to inject more joy into your life and boost your well-being.
Want to know more about play? I released an episode called Hack Your Happiness with Play in September 2023, and it's part of a series I did to help you boost the levels of happiness in your life. Go back and listen to it to take a quiz to discover your personal style of play. I have the link to the episode in the show notes for you.
Join me right here next week when I talk about the benefits of having fun with other women and how it helps us develop deeper social connections.
Thanks for listening to FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE®️.
Will you help other women in midlife and beyond find this podcast? Tell your friends and take a moment to follow, subscribe, rate, or write a review. I am so grateful.
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