37 Fun Activities That Will Re-Introduce You to the Power of Play

Do you play every day?  If not, consider the powerful boost play could give your emotional, mental, and physical well-being.  Most notably, play can:

• Relieve stress when endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals, are released. As an added bonus, endorphins can reduce pain too.

• Enhance brain function when you engage in cognitively challenging games like puzzles, word games, memory games, or math games.

• Boost your creativity and stimulate your imagination.

• Reduce social isolation, mitigate depression, and increase connection, trust, and intimacy.

• Improve your social skills if they happen to be rusty.

• Inject more vitality into your relationship, deepen your feelings of intimacy, and help you to heal resentments and wounds.

• And finally, playful communication can lighten up a heavy situation, break through anger and help you move through an impasse

Seems like play is just what we need, doesn't it?

What Is Play?

Most of all, play is considered a purposeless activity that brings about joy and pleasure.  That means you’re not engaged for the sole purpose of winning, accomplishing a goal, or improving your self.  You’re simply immersed in the moment-to-moment experience of play with a child-like abandon.

Animals remain playful throughout their adult life.  Humans, on the other hand, tend to get bogged down in worries, work, and mental rumination, forgetting almost entirely how critical fun is to an adult's health, happiness, and relationships.

[Seems like you? You may want to read:  How to Balance Work and Play.]

So let go of any notion that play is a pointless waste of time, and bring some fun back into your life.

Not Sure How to Play?

Because I don't get enough play, I asked people who follow my Always Well Within Facebook page to share some of the childlike activities that always make them feel good, even as adults.  This is what they said:

1. Coloring

2. Playing with building blocks

3. Water fight with my husband

4. Playing in the rain and snow

5. Sleeping

6. Swinging

7. Walking barefoot outside

8. Eating ice cream

9. Dancing around the house with my cat

10. Hula hooping

11. Backyard cricket

12. Blowing bubbles

13. Drawing with chalk

14. Singing silly songs

15. Using building toys to simply build with no plan and then knocking them over

16. Sand play

17. Running around a butterfly in the garden

18. Building a sand castle

19. Laying on a blanket and watching the clouds move during the day

20. Counting the stars at night

21. Skipping rocks in the river

22. Hanging out barefoot on the beach

23. Laughing without any reason with someone, clapping to increase the energy of laughter

24. Looking at the clouds and trying to find an Angel or a heart,

25. Looking for heart-shaped rocks on the beach.

26. When someone reads to me

27. Throwing a frisbee on the beach

28. Playing fetch with the dog

29. Dancing and hanging out with my friends

30. Watching cartoons

31. Listening and dancing to the vinyl classics

32. Tubing in the river

33. Group indoor games

34. Rolling down a grass covered hill

35. Sharing jokes

36. Building a snowman

37. Going for a bike ride with a friend, with no particular destination

Maybe you would like to try one of these today?

Let Play Transform Your Life for the Better

Because you deserve to forget about your work, commitments, or troubles every once in a while.  That's what play can help you do.  So don’t just look at this list, feel momentarily inspired, and then set it outside.  Sit down right now and decide how you’re going to incorporate more play into your life.

Make a list of the childlike activities that always make YOU feel good.  Then schedule a few each week. Invite your friends over for a game night or take your partner out to throw a frisbee on the beach, go to an amusement park, or sing karaoke.

Have fun and let the power of play transform your life for the better.

P.S.  If you are drawn to the idea of play, you might also like 21 Super-Easy Tiny Pleasures Guaranteed to Destroy Stress.

So what are your favorite childlike activities that make you feel good even as an adult?  I would love to hear!

Thank you for your presence, I know your time is precious!  Don’t forget to sign up for my e-letter and get access to all the free self-development resources (e-books, mini-guides + worksheets) in the Always Well Within Library. May you be happy, well, and safe – always.  With love, Sandra

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