Don't Take Life Too Seriously

One of my core values is play. 

What that means to me is being spontaneous, being silly, doing things that bring me joy, laughing a lot, and not taking life too seriously. 

I don't always honor that to be transparent. Sometimes I get real serious about life. I get very caught up in adulting and what I need to get done and play slips through the cracks. Sometimes I say no to my son who has the wildest most amazing imagination so that I can do something way less important than I've deemed urgent.

How do we invite in more play? 

What I do first is notice when it's missing. To me that often feels like I'm not as joyful, I'm rushing around for the sake of being busy, and I'm saying no to things that actually bring me a lot of happiness. 

Then, I get curious about that. I ask myself "why are you doing this"? Why are you saying no to joy and yes to stress? 

From there, I can decide how I want to move forward. My answer might be because I'm afraid that if I don't do all the things then I won't be loved. I am afraid to tell my husband that I need help because of what I'll make that mean about myself. So once I know what could be true, I can take a new action.

I can decide from a place of "I want to take life less seriously" so, therefore.......

• I'm going to say yes to Jack instead of doing whatever is on my to-do list. 
• I'll do that silly dance in public vs holding back
• I'll laugh my way through something that I could have chosen to get angry about
• I'll reschedule my afternoon so I can get out into nature with a friend

When we know what we want, we know when it's missing, and we know how we want to feel - it allows for new decisions to be made from a very intentional place.

And remember, don't take life too seriously!!