Recently, I was fortunate to spend time with two of our granddaughters, ages 4 and 1. As you can imagine, the four-year-old wanted to play with her "princess dolls." It was surprising to have my own creativity challenged when "playing with dolls."
Taking directions from a wee one meant letting go of what is real and making stuff up on the spot to engage and encourage her imagination.
"We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw*
Ouch! Guess it is important to lean into the power of playing. *George Bernard Shaw, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_bernard_shaw_120971
Try This: Get Creative: Let’s Play!
If you're like me and want to wake up excited for the day, the key is to know how to unleash your own imagination and creativity. Here are a few ideas to play a little each day this week:
- Pick a word, read the definition and find 3 ways to use it during your day.
- Use a game app to do a daily challenge. My favorite is Microsoft’s Solitaire & Casual Games for the Mahjong challenges.
- Take a beautiful photo each day and post it on your calendar or print and paste it on a calendar hanging in your house.
- Grab markers and blank sheets of paper to draw an animal.
- Get a joke book or site online to memorize each day and tell it to someone to make him/her laugh.
The objective of playing is to get your little grey cells unfettered from the daily pressures with something simple. Playing with my granddaughter reminded me of the awesome power of play to jumpstart my own creativity!