Nurture Your Inner Child

As adults, we often outgrow the concept of play.

Play is for children who aren’t burdened with worries and responsibilities, right?

Actually, play is for everyone.

Take a minute and think about what kind of activities you enjoyed as a child.

For example, some my favorite things to do when I was little include: reading, painting, and video games.

Reading is a lifelong passion that I have incorporated into my everyday life. I read about a book a week and when I neglect this hobby I feel discontented.

Art and video games though? Not so much.

For starters, while I consider myself a creative person, the paintings I produce are not exactly impressive by objective standards.

But that’s the point!

Painting was abandoned along the way because I didn’t live up to the world’s idea of a gifted artist. My skills, or lack thereof, were not reinforced by society at large. However, that doesn’t detract from the simple fact that art brings me joy.

Recently, I purchased a set of watercolors so I could reclaim this part of me that fell by the wayside. I painted a pretty questionable birthday card for my Dad featuring a dolphin, his favorite animal. He complimented my palm trees. That counts for something, right? No matter how my paintings are received, I feel great satisfaction in creating them.

My interest in video games is a similar situation. Gaming ceased to be cool around the time I entered high school. While I played Nancy Drew detective games on my computer, it wasn’t something I advertised. Fear of  judgment from my peers was too overwhelming. For starters, let’s just say I wasn’t hanging with the cool kids.

My husband and I acquired a Nintendo Switch so we could play all of our nostalgic favorites again- Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, and Zelda. Does that make me a nerd? By some people’s standards, definitely. But I don’t care, it makes my inner child grin from ear to ear.

Consider what you were fond of as a child. What activities are still a part of your life? Which ones have you let go?

Choose one of those pastimes and explore it again. Give yourself permission to have fun, to play, without the need to fulfill a larger purpose. I think you will find that it brings you a strong sense of joie de vivre.

If your internal monologue is scoffing, “This is silly, I don’t have time to play,” consider the fact that nurturing your inner child has the power to stimulate your creativity and may even get you out of a rut.

Hobbies that induce a flow state have even been shown to increase energy levels according to Sabine Sonnentag, German sociologist.

So take time to consider, what does your inner child want to do?

Maybe it wants to play the tambourine

Go camping on the weekends

or

Dance wildly to an 80’s hair band album

It’s all up to you! Let your imagination run wild.