In the study of playfulness, researchers attempt to isolate and define play as an internal state of mind rather than a mere description of how someone acts. Charles Darwin studied the playful mechanics of tickling. Sigmund Freud wrote about the role of play in emotional development. Most psychologists, interested in play, focus on children rather than adults.
Even animals play.
According to a group of researchers at Pennsylvania State University, people who exhibit high levels of playfulness have a predisposition to becoming spontaneous, outgoing, creative, fun-loving, and lighthearted. They cope well with stress, lead active lifestyles, and succeed academically.
In Play, Playfulness, Creativity and Innovation (2013), British researchers Patrick Bateson and Paul Martin determine playful activities. For them, this means: “cheerful, frisky, frolicsome, good-natured, joyous, merry, rollicking, spirited, sprightly [and/or] vivacious.”
Research suggests that child’s play helps children “practice” for the real world. They learn to solve problems and deal with emotions they might encounter later in life. We can teach ourselves to incorporate it into our lives.
University of Illinois associate professor and playfulness expert Lynn A. Barnett, finds that playful people are less likely to encounter stress in their lives, and that when they do, they’re better at coping with it. “People who are playful don’t run away from stress, they deal with it—they don’t do avoidance,” Barnett said.
Even those researchers who think of playfulness as a personality trait suspect it’s a malleable one, which people can develop in themselves if they want to.
We need to engage in the pleasures of playful activity.
This could include games, dancing, pulling pranks, singing, enjoying musical instruments, or making other people laugh.
Boost your spontaneity and creativity in play.
Engaging in a little silliness adds to overall well-being.
Get on the path of playfulness. Find a playful way to express your day.
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