This is a short solo YouTube talk by Jack Canfield promoting playtime for adults. He opens with a personal anecdote about spending a month in a Maui beach house where he combined two hours of focused morning writing with afternoons devoted to play (swimming, snorkeling, sailing, hiking, socializing, games). He cites scientific research and corporate case studies (Google, Zappos, Virgin, MasterCard) to argue that play reduces stress, enhances creativity, strengthens relationships, and improves productivity. He describes play activities used at the Canfield Training Group and closes with practical tips (schedule play, invite others, commit publicly) plus calls-to-action to comment, like, subscribe, and visit his website.
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Hi, I'm Jack Canfield. You know, the phrase all work and no play makes Jack a doll boy. Well, today I'd like to tell you why that's true and why playtime is just as important for adults as it is for children. Earlier this year, my wife and I spent a month living in a beach house in Maui, Hawaii. We had done the same thing last year and decided to go back this year because it was such an amazingly fun and bonding experience for us. Every morning I got up early and did my regular meditation and yoga or Qigong routine. Then I ate breakfast and spent two hours writing. But after that, the rest of the day was devoted to play. My wife and I went swimming, snorkeling, we went sailing and hiking. We relaxed on the beach and enjoyed some incredible meals at some great restaurants. And we spent our evenings reading, socializing with friends and playing Scrabble and listening to music and watching our favorite TV shows. And you know what? I accomplished more during those two hours I spent writing every morning than I sometimes achieved when I'm back home in the course of an eight hour day. And not only that, I had more energy, I felt more alive. My creativity was through the roof. My wife and I felt more deeply in love than ever and I felt more relaxed than I'd been in months. Now that's the power of play. Scientific research shows that engaging in a recreational activity purely for the pleasure of it, whether it's making art, playing games or sports, doing yoga, or going for a walk in the woods, it's essential for our mental and physical health and our well being. Now, playtime has been proven to reduce stress, to spark your creativity, improve relationships and boost a person's energy and productivity. It gives people an opportunity to connect and develop important social skills as well. And it fosters innovation and out of the box thinking. Now this is just as true of adults as it is of children. In fact, corporate research shows that companies that encourage play find their employees produce better work and they come up with more creative solutions to problems. Just think about Zappos shoes, Virgin airlines, Google and MasterCard, who all make fun play and creative environments part of their culture. It's why they're so successful Now. Google is one of the greatest examples of this. Way back in the early days of the company's existence, they insisted on creating an atmosphere that encouraged creativity and play. They added ping pong tables, workout gyms, and other opportunities for mental and physical play in their workspaces. And they saw that it had a major positive impact on your employees. Creativity and their performance at the Canfield Training Group. We have a quarterly play day where we have group competitions like scavenger hunts and Outward Bound type group challenges, competing to see which teams get out of an escape room the fastest. That was really fun. And by the way, if you've never done an escape room, make sure you get a group together and do that. We've had bowling competitions, even a group painting class while drinking wine, which produced some really interesting art. And also we played some more popular board games, we've taken Italian cooking classes, we've gone on sunset cruises together, and all kinds of other things as well. So today I'd like you to consider what kind of play you most enjoy and what steps you're willing to take to incorporate more of it into your life. Do you enjoy playing sports? Playing chess? Decorating cakes? Knitting? Working on old cars? Dancing, writing, poetry, Gardening? Paddleboarding? Going to the theater or the Comedy Store? Dancing? Whatever it is, whatever activities bring you joy and engage you so fully that when you're doing them you completely lose track of time. Now these are the activities I encourage you to do more of in your life because the benefits will be incalculable. Not only will you experience more joy and more fun in your life, your work and your relationships will benefit hugely as well. Now, one of the keys here is to schedule keywords, schedule your playtime, put it in your calendar, and then do it either alone or with other people. And one way to make sure you do it is to invite other people to play with you at the same time. Then you're committed. All right, I'd like to hear your thoughts after watching this video. What action will you take today to introduce more play into your life? And I challenge you to commit to it publicly in the comments below. I look forward to reading what you have to say, and thank you for watching. And remember, everything in your life will only change for the better when you change. Now. If you found this video helpful, make sure you like it, share it with a friend who may need it, and subscribe to my channel for more videos like this one, and for some additional resources on the importance of playtime for adults, make sure to visit my website at jackcampfield. Com. And thanks again for watching.
