The Power of Play: Clocks vs Clouds and Taming Your Wild Things

We're wired for fun and play. It's part of our learning process, a key strategy to create connections, and essential for optimal mental health. In this episode, we'll talk about some common obstacles (clocks vs clouds) and we'll also cover simple strategies to soften overthinking (tame those wild things!) and to uncover your most playful self.  

 

Key Takeaways:

• Act as if... sometimes a bit of fun, even when you don't feel like it, can make fun more likely in the future.
• We live in a universe of clouds, not clocks. Pretending otherwise creates a lot of suffering. 
• C.S. Lewis: "Have fun, even if it's not the same kind of fun everyone else is having."
• Metacognition... the benefits of thinking about thinking and the traps of just thinking way too much (e.g., have you ever had the yips?)
• Fun strategies:
  • Strike your fun pose.
  • Get grounded. 
  • Embrace your unique idea of fun.
  • Let go of the outcome.
  • Don't be afraid to lose. 
  • Remedies for depression can actually be fun. 
• Maurice Sendak: "It is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It's the best means they have for taming Wild Things."

 

Links Mentioned:

• Joy Lab Episode #5
• More about Karl Popper (Also see: "Of Clouds and Clocks: An approach to the problem of rationality and freedom of man.")
• Maurice Sendak: https://www.sendakfoundation.org  
• Joy Lab Program