Think back to a time when you were a kid…when you didn’t look in the mirror, there was no social media, and when you were obsessed with playtime. When we were young and allowed our imaginations to soar, we were unstoppable. Over the holidays, I was playing with my grand-kids. Within moments after seeing them with plastic light sabers I asked, “Can I play?” They all yelled an enthusiastic “yes!”. Suddenly I was Princess Leia and we were running away from the Storm Troopers. I didn’t ask questions, I followed their lead. We were in a make-believe world of our own, running and playing. We were unstoppable. We knew the ending because we invented the scenario. Of course, we won!
Think back to those times when you were unstoppable in your life, whether it was as a kid or recently, when you had fun doing something. You immersed yourself in a illusion and envisioned a story with a positive outcome.
Playtime is important not only to inspire us as adults, but for motivating us to do things, like cleaning out a closet or going on a job interview. Neither of those sound like fun, but there are times we need to dive in and tackle those difficult tasks. Here are a few ideas on how to be unstoppable in your daily life.
- Put together a Feel Good Playlist that motivates you to move or dance. Listen to the music when you’re driving, organizing or cleaning. It just might get you in a more uplifting state of mind. Let the rhythm move you. Dancing is highly recommended! Listening to upbeat music might give you the inspiration to smile and be happier during an arduous task.
- Prepare. A child I did some pretty crazy things. I was a state champion swimmer and I raced motocross. Whether I was jumping over twenty-foot-tall jumps with my motorcycle, or swimming as fast as I can, I had to be in a much different mindset than if I were reading a book. Prior to the race, it was important to prepare my body and mind. I would have to do more than just practice. Fuel your body with the best food possible. Eat organic, healthy, whole foods. Steer away from sodas, sugary foods, unhealthy snacks. Pretend that whatever it is you need to do is a very important task, however menial.
- Find the thing that makes your heart sing and do that more often. Although most of us don’t have the opportunity to play like when we were kids, try to schedule time to do the things you love to do. You’ll be happier and healthier. There is a new facility that opened in my town that has dozens of trampolines. I can’t wait to jump and bounce like I was a kid.
Whether you are taking out the trash, doing laundry or have an important meeting, think about the things you loved to do when you were a child. Play. Plan ahead and create a fun playlist that makes you want to dance and be a little bit silly. Allow yourself to be playful on occasion. Get rid of the mirrors, the second guessing and doubting yourself, and watch your confidence soar! You can be unstoppable!
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Shemane,
Thanks for the tips. You are a positive and very uplifting person. Thanks for the motivation to be better.
Glad you are here John!
Thank you so much for being such a positive influence. I look forward to each Friday so I can be reminded that no matter how bad things seem to be sometimes you can still find a positive in there somewhere. THANK YOU!
It isn’t always easy to be positive when bad things are happening, so I write about uplifting things for ME, too! Thanks for being here!
Shemane, you give better advice than all the “head doc’s” out there. Common sense and obviously a student of life who’s learned her lessons well at the” school of hard knocks and reality”.
Just today I decided to reorganize cabinets so I turned on your talented husband (his music) and the time flew by and the job got done with a smile on my face and a light heart. Thanks again, wish everyone on earth could read your life experiences and learn from them.
Thanks Jean!! Glad you got those cabinets organized!
My mother died suddenly when I was 11. The world as I knew it, and played in it, changed. A motherless daughter. Less than 2 months after my 20th birthday, I gave birth to my only child, Tracy. I learned to play again. Less than 2 weeks after her 20th birthday, she gave birth to her son. I learned to play even more and absolutely delighted in watching the two of them play. Less than a week after Christmas in 2009, my world crashed beyond repair. Tracy, at 28 years old, was killed. A daughterless mother. My grandson’s father (divorced from my daughter for 6 years prior) moved him out of state and canceled my visitation order. I’ve not seen the precious boy in over two years. During the past two years, my husband was hospitalized 6 times in 3 different hospitals, undergoing 8 surgeries (5 of which were emergent) and spent nearly 60 days hospitalized and 6 months off work recovering. I don’t think I will ever learn how to play again and, honestly, I’m not sure that I even care to. Without my daughter, my reasons for even being are gone. I kept going for my grandson when I had visitation, but that has also been taken from me now. The loss of a child is where yesterday and forever collide, and we live in that vortex; there is no playtime there. It is an amputation without anesthesia. The Mother’s Day ads scream in your face, from the television, the mailed ads, online ads, in the grocery store – they are everywhere, reminding you that yes, you are a motherless daughter, and a daughterless mother. You desperately want to run away but you know that no matter where you run to, there you are.
I’m so sorry for your loss, tribulations and pain. Sending you love and light is something I can do.