We All Need a Little More Time to “Play”
Currently, I am a student at BDW, a graduate program focused on design thinking in bridging the physical and digital worlds. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the element of play in the world of design, adults, careers, jobs, professional life, and how little there is of it. And when I say play I am talking about the freedom of making quick decisions and without fearing the judgement of others.
As a child play took up the majority of my time. I remember playing make believe in the backyard with my best friend Kellie. We pretended to be sisters living in Hawaii and would trade off on who got to play Stacey for the day. We played for hours, and could care less that our brothers were spying on us or that dinner was ready. We were lost in our own little world; creating people, places, stories and having so much fun!
I miss the element of play in my life. I’m not sure I miss the specific game of “Hawaii,” but I do miss the spontaneity, exploration and the ideas that came with it.
As an adult my time is now focused on my education at BDW, as well as my career and life goals. I ask myself,
“What has changed? Why did I stop playing?”
It seems that when we are young we are not afraid of embarrassing ourselves, but as we get older we begin to censor our natural instincts out of fear of losing our jobs, not being liked, or looking like an idiot. We lose the playfulness that once made us curious and excited about life.
It’s unfortunate because creativity is born from a place of playfulness. Now I’m not an advocate of doing drugs, but in 1966 creative researcher Robert McKim lead a study on the effects of psychedelic agents on creative problem solving ability. What he found is extraordinary:
“…psychedelic agents seem to facilitate creative problem-solving, particularly in the “illumination phase.” The results also suggest that various degrees of increased creative ability may continue for at least some weeks subsequent to a psychedelic problem-solving session.”
The drugs allowed people to forget about their inhibitions that come with being a responsible adult and unlocked their inner child playfulness. New ways of thinking emerged and with it came out-of-the-box ideas. It wasn’t the drugs, but the willingness to play that sparked their creativity.
When I was pursuing an acting career I was lucky to find an outlet that allowed me to play pretend again, but in a respectable and culturally accepted environment. Had I been acting by myself in Central Park, pretending to be the Princess of Monaco, I’d be locked up in the looney bin within 10 minutes. No wonder we stop playing as adults! There’s too much at risk. In order to play we need to feel safe in our environments. We need to trust the people around us.
What would happen if we took the very well known feeling of having to perform and actually gave adults a space to literally perform? To do, think and feel freely like they did as a kid, and with the knowledge that they will not be fired, judged or disliked? What if we could cultivate a space where people could safely unlock their childlike selves? What would happen?
From an outside perspective it might look like a bunch of people playing in a LARP game, but for those who are participating it might actually be the impetus for the new iPhone design, marketing strategy, prototype, engineering improvement or theory of the Universe.
Yes, we do have to get older and become responsible for more things when we do, but it doesn’t mean we have to stop seeing the world through a fresh brain. Play brings that freshness, along with creativity, learning, clarity and a sense of trust. So I say, PLAY ON!
I am currently a student in BDW’s 50 week program. Learn more about the BDW program. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter.
