1 Playful Thing Every Day

My degree in college was Tourism, Hospitality, & Recreation Management. My emphasis was in Outdoor Experiential Education & Leadership.

What this meant, is that many of my foundational courses revolved around theories of play, leisure, and recreation.

I studied the data around how leisure activities are correlated with health and happiness. How it impacts quality of life at every age. And at how essential it is to development. I even learned how employees at JPL were, according to one study, better at their jobs if they had played around with building and creating things as children. And on a more somber note, how lack of play and freedom as children  was correlated to some adults who committed some atrocious acts.

(An amazing book I recommend, if this topic interests you, is titled Play, by Stuart Brown M.D. and Christopher Vaughan)

Although there are many different theories and studies around leisure, one thing is for certain - all animals play. The book above recounts some fascinating stories of animals playing in the wild, and hypothesizes the biological and evolutionary benefits & necessities of play.

As someone who faced death as a child and lived, from a very young age I was confronted with the knowledge that life is a gift.

I knew many children who did not live to adolescence, much less adulthood. 

I knew, deep in my bones and being, that not everyone gets to live, and so I believed as a young child that every day was precious.

If you’d like, you can read more about my journey here. 

When I found myself in these classes, years later in college, this fire was fanned with the scientific data reflecting the impact on health & quality of life that comes from ENJOYING LIFE !

I know more than many how challenging, hard, and painful life can get and be - even for years and years at a time sometimes.

And also, I believe we can experience enjoyment EVEN during these challenging times!

After taking so many classes that showed me the proof in scientific evidence of how prioritizing leisure is correlated with positive outcomes throughout life at every age, I made a huge shift & a huge decision in my life:

I PRIORITIZED PLAY.

Now, play/leisure/recreation can mean something different to every single person! In essence, play is doing something because you want to & have the freedom & time to do so. Play is something that brings you pleasure simply from the doing of it. Play is intrinsically motivated.

When I started prioritizing leisure activities in my busy, busy life - I was a full-time college student working 2-3 part-time jobs + volunteering + picking up side gigs when I could - everything began to shift. Because of my full schedule, prioritizing play sometimes meant doing something very small that brought me joy - reading a good book, chatting with a friend, taking a break from studying to exercise, etc - for just a few minutes.

I noticed that by making the conscious choice to prioritize play - to do something I enjoyed EVEN WHEN it didn’t logically make sense to do so - even when I had things to get done & didn’t seemingly have time to do both - once I prioritized leisure, I found myself suddenly having more time in my day. More energy in my weeks. More ease in my life!

In short, everything changed.

And my core philosophies of life became not just an internal belief that I held for years, but something my every day life reflected. It became something I embodied. 

It became the reality of my life - and now, my life is 99% LED. BY. JOY.

I know that happiness is internally derived - I know we are not dependent on external circumstances to feel joy - AND, through this, I learned that with my conscious ability to act & decide, I can CHOOSE actions & ways of being & thinking that support me in experiencing & feeling joy DAILY - that help me live life in a way that does in fact reflect my values, my priorities, and my worth….

YOU DESRVE TO FEEL JOY NOW.

REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING - AND I MEAN ANYTHING - ELSE OCCURRING IN YOUR WORLD - 

YOU ARE WORTHY OF EXPERIENCING JOY, DELIGHT, GIDDINESS - NOW !!!!!!!!

So my invitation for you is - and I warn you, if you make this a daily habit it may change your life forever -

WHAT IS 1 THING YOU ARE GOING TO DO TODAY THAT SUPPORTS YOU IN EXPERIENCING YOUR JOY?!?!?!

Much love,

Jenna