The Power of Play

The Fool; Courtesy of Motherpeace tarot

The Fool; Courtesy of Motherpeace tarot

The Fool, the first card in the major arcana of a tarot deck is inspiration for the Power of Play. She represents frivolity, joy, spaciousness, lightheartedness and the willingness to embrace the beginner’s mind without the fear of being foolish. She is embarking on her hero’s journey without a care in the world.

Embracing one’s inner elf is the secret to the power of play.

Play and curiosity go hand in hand for me. They are the counterbalance to serious grinding in dogged pursuit of oh-so-important goals. The power of play can be easier to find in leisure, yet the same ease and curiosity is also accessible at work. Play is a state of being; the opposite of getting things done.

Play at Leisure

We all have our forms of leisure, call them hobbies or rejuvenation or simply how we show up when we’re on vacation. For me, I have adventurous play and relaxing play.

Adventurous play is activities that get my heart racing and challenge me to push my edge. They include some quiet and rejuvenation, and often involve physical activity. My examples:

  • Surfing

  • Snowboarding

  • Hiking the wilderness, or urban exploring San Francisco’s Crosstown Trail

  • Exploring a new city without a map, a destination or a plan

  • Couples dancing or following a new dance routine

  • Parts of my strength/cardio workout that involves a sledgehammer on a tire, boxing, or ball slams

Relaxing play is activities that calm me down and refuel my soul. Some aspect of creativity & making is often included. My examples:

  • Reading fiction and non-fiction

  • Sketching and painting

  • Writing

  • Petting & playing with my cats

  • Baking

  • Taking my time exploring a museum

  • People-watching

  • Napping

Both forms of play are needed, though I often make the mistake of prioritizing adventurous play— it’s my driven nature that I work to counterbalance.

Play at Work

What parts of work feel like play? What gives you energy and joy? What gets you in a state of flow where time flies by?

For me as a designer, it was:

  • Starting a new project and getting lost in all the discovery and exploration of an unknown space

  • Staff meetings / team critique where anything goes and it’s a place of safety and fun

  • 1–1 conversations that focus on what really matters, not the petty annoyances of each day’s work

  • Sketching a large variety of design solutions with pen and paper

  • Listening to an inspiring speaker

For me as a coach, it is:

  • Creating new programs, projects, and visualizations. Every one is a new experiment to try.

  • 1–1 conversations with clients where we get to deep insight and a lot of laughter

  • Connecting with someone who feels instantly like “my people”

  • Reading tarot to access a different and intuitive perspective

How to Harness the Power of Play

When you watch children, there is no distinction between Play at Leisure and Play at Work. Throwing a ball is play. Pretend games with dolls and trucks is play. Cleaning windows is play. Learning to sound out the alphabet is play. How might we think like a child and add more play in our lives regardless of whether it’s for leisure or work?

1. Find your flowList your activities for Play at Leisure and Play at Work. Figure out which of those causes you to lose track of time and fall into a flow state. What do you start at 10pm at night and then suddenly look up to find that it’s 3am? What are themes & characteristics of these activities? And how might you honor these themes throughout your life.

2. Be curiousImagine that you’re a cultural anthropologist or a researcher observing your family, your coworkers, your activities at work for the very first time? What are these people focused on? Why are they doing this? What matters to them? What gets them the most upset? Should I try this too? Bring in an atmosphere of curiosity and questioning which can help reframe and alleviate a lot of what’s currently happening. Curiosity is a gateway to play.

3. Be foolishTaking inspiration from the fool tarot card, approach tasks & activities with a beginner’s mind— be able and willing to ask questions. Be prepared to look and sound foolish when you’re trying to do something for the first time (or for the 100th time). Accept that mistakes are part of the learning process. Giving yourself this permission to be foolish taps into the power of play.

4. Make it a game
Game designers know that the system must be meticulously created so that players will have the most fun and challenge. There are consistent rules of the game, an understanding of all the levels, the ability to collect prizes and complete achievements, and there is a the final task and celebration when you win the game. How might you gamify the activities in your life to create a sense of play? What are the levels to complete? What are the rewards & celebration? What’s the role of competition, either with yourself or others?

Bottom-Line

Play is more than play. Play is the source of pleasure, joy, energy and flow-state in our lives. Tapping into the power of play leads to more ease and fulfillment in leisure and work.

Tutti Taygerly