NOTE: We had a few technical issues with the sound. We appreciate your patience.
In this episode, we explore playfulness, something we can easily overlook if our minds are full of heaviness. Research shows people learn best through play and we get curious about how we can access a more playful vibe. Even those of us who tend towards seriousness usually have a playful, silly side. Yet we can feel uncomfortable around silliness. We wanted to explore what's up with that.
Here’s what we explored:
what about having a little bit of fun every day?
sometimes there can be a kind of pride around being 'sophisticated'
silliness can feel like being out of control
a light heart is so much more helpful in so called 'serious' situations
when you get down and serious with others who are down and serious, everything just gets more heavy and serious
do we just need permission to bring more playfulness to life?
a light heart invites others to lighten up
we're not talking about tone-deaf joking around when others are suffering
light-hearted memes and gifs in the midst of difficult situations can bring a moment of lightness and relief
those moments of lightness and relief open space for fresh thinking
seriousness doesn't feel too good and is often a barrier to understanding
a lighter heart opens self and others to more openness, curiosity, and tenderness
the brain loves play: we feel better and find more flow
how does playfulness help the bottom line?
you have to rest and restore to be effective at looking after the bottom line
is playfulness a superpower?
a definition of success: being happy with who we are, what we have, and what we are doing, right now
when you allow yourself to enjoy what you're doing, it isn't just a more pleasurable experience, it impacts what you're doing
innocently we say, I can't be happy until I'm good at this task/job/project?
we may notice that playfulness is easy in some areas of life, eg.photography for Carla
in other areas we may bring lots of fear and judgment to things, believing we have to get it right
when we 'enjoy' tasks, it's simply because we don't have too much thinking on our mind
it's cool to notice we may be holding heavy, serious perceptions about a task which we aren't actually doing right now
sometimes we hold these perceptions in our imagination and experience all the seriousness of our thinking, mistakenly believing it is the task giving us the experience
a great question for journaling: what would this look like, if it was easy?
you bring your state of mind to life not the other way round
if you are in an irritated state of mind, everything in your awareness will feel irritating
you are literally living in the experience of irritation
any moment has the possibility to be anything in your experience
you can't focus on the problem and the solution at the same time
problem thinking creates an experience of problems
perfectionism is a joy killer
getting something 80% done, is good enough
you can always refine and upgrade
when we are tight and serious and constricted around something, it is hard going
as an experiment: what would it be like to go into something totally playful and curious. Try it with something that is not high stakes
when we deeply realise the wholeness at our core, we get less interested in striving to be perfect
people want a richer internal life, why wouldn't they?
Carla is seeing clients recognising the toxicity of the perfectionist culture and she encourages them to get more real
finding the courage to go into something with more authenticity. Dropping the masks
stand in your own knowing when you get ideas that seem left field
this time is fertile ground for innovation: for new ideas to emerge, for people who don't consider themselves as leaders to come forward
when we are being authentic and true to what resonates, people are attracted to that
they are attracted to the quiet knowing rather than the idea itself
we're here to invite each other into a quieter space and what people will do in that space is up to them
it's an exciting time
we invite listeners to experiment with more playfulness in their lives
Quotes and References
Painting with John (HBO series)
Kintsugi - Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with golden lacquer