The Ted Talk That Had Me in Tears and Saying YES to More Play...

For all my ambitious working moms out there who are doing a mile-a-minute with both feet on the gas pedal, please hit pause and watch this Ted talk today 'My Year of Saying Yes to Everything,' by Shonda Rhimes.

I'm proud to say I've watched this upteenth times because the message is just that good. For those of you who don't know, Shonda Rhimes spent last year doing a social experiment saying YES to everything that scared her, allowing her to push past her fears.

What was most valuable to her is what resonated the most with me. The idea that 'Work doesn't work without play.'

When I reflect on my own professional experiences, I can absolutely draw a correlation between the years that I spent head down, chasing, running, scrambling to close the next deal, only to feel disconnected, exhausted, lost and unfulfilled on the inside. The joy had been sucked out my professional life and was seeping into other areas of my life. My a-ha moment came when I had three very active, enthusiastic boys, five years old and under, staring me down every night and begging me to play?

It hit me. The message became clear.

Shonda Rhimes is spot on when she says, "It's not really about playing with the kids. It's about finding your joy. Give yourself 15 minutes a day and figure it out. Play in that arena."

I like to think of our children as spiritual guides, sent here to remind us how to connect to ourself, so we can live our lives Consciously. Awake. Engaged. At the highest version of ourselves. My little boys had done just that.

Here are three things I do to weave JOY and PLAY into my life daily.

I go for a 15 minute walk, and I always find one or more of my children want to join.
I have playlists lock and loaded on my phone and put them on at least once a day - dance parties (solo or w/ children)
I sit on the ground. I find play happens on the ground. Either wrestling, make-believe, conversation....it all happens on the ground.

Lastly, here's a book I reference regularly with clients called Play, by Stuart Brown.

I couldn't agree more with Shonda Rhimes, the more I give myself permission to play, the more I feel like myself, which is the ultimate goal, isn't it? To live and experience the truth of who we're here to become with grace and ease.

All Love,

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