Play 101 (Intro)

You're listening to Optimize with Brian Johnson. More wisdom in less time.

Hello, I'm Alexandra. Welcome to Play 101, how to activate your superpowers, increase your mojo and have more fun. So play. This is a very interesting topic and a very fun topic, but I also think it's a really important topic that is missing in our modern daily life. It is so busy and I often hear people saying that they don't have enough time for play. And also, what the heck is play? So we're going to explore that in the class. But first I want to share a quote from Stuart Brown, who is the king of play. He's written the book called Play and he's also a play researcher. And he says that the lack of play should be treated like malnutrition. It's a health risk for the body and the mind. And there's many things that I love about that quote because it's malnutrition. So if you are deficient in vitamin B or vitamin D, you would be treated for that. To not have vitamin B or D would be a health risk. So he's saying that the lack of play that most of us experience is malnutrition. And I totally agree. I think that most of us are play deficient. And one of the ways that I like to play with this is to imagine you're an alien. And you come down to earth and you know, there's these little people over here, they're called children. Then you have these people over here who are called adults. And just imagine for a second or a few seconds observing the children, how do they live? And then imagine the adults, how do they live? So you're an alien, you're just observing, seeing how they move and live. And this always brings it home for me because I look at children and how free they are. They are so engaged, they're self expressed. There is just like a full blossoming. And for some of us as the adults, we get really serious. There's a heaviness. All of a sudden. We're very ambitious and driven on our phones, on our computers, we have stress. That's not all the time, but I think it's a really important thing to check into how we are living our days. And I'm not saying we go back to being children, but. But I do think kind of bringing up that playful divine spark within us is really important to bring that childlike nature into our everyday life. So that is what we are going to be exploring in this class. And I also want to do another. A quote from Nietzsche, which I love. In every real man, a child is hidden that wants to play. So that is what we're going to explore. That inner child that wants to play. And last thing before we jump into our big ideas, I have a quote from Stuart Brown again. And he says remembering what play is all about and making it a part of our daily lives is probably the most important factor in being a fulfilled human being. The ability to play is critical not only to being happy but but also to sustaining sound relationships and being a more creative and innovative person. So that is awesome. Let's dive into our top 11 big ideas for play 101. All right, so big idea number one is what is play and how it can help us actualize our potential. So we'll look at the definition of play and then how play really energizes our soul and helps us become more creative and successful. Big idea number two is the different flavors of play. We'll go through eight different ways that you can explore adding more play into your daily life. Big idea number three is increase sleep and decrease distractions. We'll talk about why play loves sleep and dislikes distractions. Big idea number four is take place seriously and simplify. One of the reasons that we say that we don't play enough is because we don't think it's important or we don't have enough time. So we'll talk about how to address that and to simplify to create more space. Big idea number five is be yourself and your turned on playlist. We'll find your own unique playstyle by being more of who you are. And then we'll create a turned on playlist. Big idea number six is say yes more. This idea is all about saying yes to your highest vision and saying no to everything else. It's looking for more opportunities to play. Big idea number seven is player size and be childlike. Movement is a big play booster. So we'll look at finding ways that you can enjoy movement more and then also find ways where you can be more childlike in your daily life. Big idea number eight is craft your play dates. We schedule appointments, meetings, work errands. Why not play dates? So we'll look at little and big ways that you can infuse more play. Big idea number nine is break some rules and your joy regulator. We'll really take a look at how many rules that you follow, whether they're conscious or unconscious. And we'll look to break some and see how that makes you feel. And then we'll be aware of your joy regulator the part of you that can handle only so much pleasure before it becomes too much. And we'll try to shatter some of that so that you can expand into greater levels of happiness. Big idea number 10 is act as if and practice. Act as if you are playful. What would you do if you believed you were playful? And then also practice play is a habit. So we're going to talk about how to rewire your brain so that you can have more of a playful mindset. Big idea number 11 is cultivate your inner superhero and make it all a game. Play is a state of mind. This big idea we're going to look to choose empowering stories and games that help us actualize and optimize our potential. You'll slay some dragons and demons and fears and look at how you can approach all of life as a game rocking your heroic journey.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Optimize with Brian Johnson. To find out more go to Optimize Me.

Sam.