Summary

Joanne Fortune introduces the book by describing how important it is to reconnect with the child in you and unlock the transformative power of play to live a more meaningful and connected life.

She begins by asking about the memories of play during childhood and how play can help us gain a perspective on the world and our place in it. Then goes on to ask, why then, as adults, we seem to have forgotten how to play.

The book is full of useful insights, tips, and exercises to help shift the adult mindset back into child-like play. Fortune describes the importance of:

 ·       Practicing micro-moments of joy to boost positive mood.

·       Embracing wonderment to help unlock creativity and problem-solving

·       Finding the fun in your every day to alleviate stress

·       Using storytelling to heal from trauma and find emotional resilience

·       Nurturing a holiday state of mind to rest your brain and recharge

·       Utilising simple techniques to repair and strengthen relationships

 

The book is an invitation and roadmap to a more playful state of mind so that we can nurture our own capacity for empathy and creativity.  It does this by guiding you  through the following chapters:

·       The science of play: why it’s good for us

·       Changing the stories we live by - the playful route

·       Play in our relationships

·       Play and work

·       Conclusion: play is for life

 

What resonated?

I really enjoyed the first reflection introduced in the book where the reader was invited to close their eyes and imagine what taking time out to create space and take time for yourself looked and felt like.

You could try this now yourselves - close your eyes now and repeat to yourself, I am creating space and taking time for myself - where do you see yourself? What are you doing? Are you alone or with someone, and if you are with someone, who is it? How are you feeling at this moment?

Early on in the book Fortune asks many searching questions of the reader – here are some examples of those questions:

·       Do you believe that you have a playful side?

·       When did you last feel playful?

·       Who brings out your playful side?

·       What kind of activities feel like play to you?

·       What kind of activities add energy to how you feel and behave?

·       Where in your life are you your most playful?

·       Are you open to creating space for more playfulness in your life?

·       What difference will this make in your life?

If this is difficult for you or you don’t like your answers, I would definitely recommend this book to you.

 

Some of My Favourite Quotes

“Play is central to the human experience, and just as we change and develop as we grow older, how we play needs to change and grow with us.”

“...play fuels flexibility and adaptability. The capacity to be flexible and adaptable is an essential life skill that enables us to bend without breaking when the landscape around us shifts.”

“Play is not a box of toys in the corner of a room. It is a state of mind and a way of being.”

“Just as we exercise our physical muscles to keep us healthy, strong, and physically flexible, we also need to work on our play muscles so that our playful side is healthy and strong enough to fuel the flexibility we rely on in negotiating life’s ups and downs.”

 “My battle cry in this sphere of self-care is that taking time out to play is not an act of frivolity that distracts from your work or other roles but enables you to reach your potential in all areas of your life without compromising your own well-being.”

 

Conclusion

In this book, Joanne Fortune brings to the reader a rainbow of different exercises to reconnect the reader to the joy of play, therefore starting the reader on a journey of re-discovery and the importance of play to ensure good mental health and a way to build resilience in life.

As a person who finds the idea of play challenging, as I have a serious personality – I find it hard to find my inner child!  I thought the book was really informative and gave a useful perspective on the concept of finding joy in daily life.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would, it’s relatively short and quick to read with many useful insights and exercises backed up by science.

 

And finally, I thought I’d leave you with this little activity taken from the book:  

 Get a jar and write lots of different activity ideas on coloured note paper and fold these up to put inside the jar. These can be anything you think of on any day. Those times when you wistfully say, ‘Oh, I must do that someday,’ write it down and put it in your jar. Then when you feel you need to get up, out, and do something, simply reach into your jar, pull out a random activity, and off you go to do that, whatever it might be.