“Back in the days when I was young, I’m not a kid anymore…”
If you know, you know. 😊
That line from Ahmad’s Back in the Day has been running through my mind as I think about something…
Most adults can barely resist an invitation to play. So why do we need an invitation?
Put hopscotch in front of us, LEGO, Play-Doh, double-dutch a colouring table, a dance circle, something unexpected, creative and just a little bit childlike. Even people who appear not to want to participate often do. They hesitate, watch, smile, hover and sometimes just need someone else to go first. There’s an interesting irony in that.
We Couldn’t Wait to Grow Up
When we are children, we don’t actually have much freedom to simply be children on our own terms.
Parents, guardians, teachers, coaches are guiding us, supervising us and telling us when to eat, sleep, leave, come home, do our homework or stop playing. We can’t wait to grow up and do what we want, when we want.
Then we become adults.
We finally have the freedom we wanted so badly, and somehow many of us decide we are now too adult, too serious, too busy or too professional to play.
The Freedom to Do It Just Because I Can
I still think about my mother when I leave my house really late at night.
If I tried to leave at 11 p.m. when I was younger, she would ask, “If you’re leaving now, when are you coming home?”
Now my mom has passed, I’m grown, and every once in a while I will leave my house at one in the morning for absolutely no good reason. Just because I can. 😂 There is still a younger version of me who gets a little joy out of that freedom.
So maybe the question isn’t only why do adults need permission to play. Maybe it is why, once we finally have the freedom to give ourselves permission, we stop.
When Did Play Stop Feeling Appropriate?
Somewhere along the way, curiosity, imagination, joy and childlike possibility start to feel inappropriate, not adult enough, serious enough or professional enough. I think we need to challenge that.
Creativity should not be reserved for a retreat, team-building day, vacation or rare moment of fun. It needs to be woven into everyday life, thrown in wherever possible and practised consistently.
Because when people exercise their Creative Intelligence, stay curious, explore, imagine and reconnect with their inner child, it affects how they relate to themselves and one another, respond to challenges, communicate, solve problems and show up at work.
And right now, people need that.
People Are Having a Hard Time
I spend a lot of time out in community, speaking with people, facilitating and listening. One of the most common things I hear is simply:
People are having a hard time.
People feel tired, disconnected, lonely and overwhelmed, financial stress, there’s a heaviness. Sometimes small talk doesn’t even feel small anymore. It is less, “How was your weekend?” and more, “How are you holding up?”
That is why I know, creativity, play, curiosity and joy are non negotiable.
Sometimes We Need Permission to Play
Sometimes we need external permission, internal permission or both to stop performing adulthood for a moment, be curious, laugh, play, explore and make something without feeling that it has to look conventionally productive, because creating, playing is productive. Curiosity is productive.
Not one creative moment, one afternoon or one activation, but environments where people are continually encouraged to exercise their Creative Intelligence.
Creativity Belongs in the Workplace Too
When people feel more connected, engaged, curious and alive, it affects culture, retention, absenteeism, communication, conflict, collaboration and ultimately, the bottom line.
Creativity is not an escape from real life.
It is one of the ways we return to it.