All Work and No Play? Christian Counseling Can Help Find Life Balance for Adults

By Bellevue Christian counseling

 “Play for the adult is recreation, the renewal of life.” – Philip Roth

Have you ever thought about how play is a gift? It allows us to stretch our imagination, to laugh and smile and to get outside of ourselves. It’s often in play that we get new ideas. Often as adults we get focused on our careers, bills, and life decisions and while these are all important, our lives often lack balance. What would it look like to incorporate play into your weekly routine? Do you know what is fun for you? Let’s look at four reasons why we should play.

 1. It provides balance

We can’t always be working and we need a break. Remember the saying “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?’ Play invigorates us and also refreshes us. It actually helps us to be become better workers. Play gives you something else to talk about at dinner party conversations in addition to what you did at work.

 2. It’s fun!

There are so many ways to play and it can be done alone or with a friend. Engaging in activities that you enjoy can also improve your mood. If work is stressful, scheduling time to play gives you something to look forward to and allows you to be able to handle stressful times better.

 3. It’s a great way to make friends

Often children make friends on the playground. They decide someone is their new friend within a couple of minutes of meeting them before even learning their new friend’s name. As an adult, it can be more difficult to make friends outside of work. Joining an adult sports league, regularly attending a group exercise class or attending an adult education class are all ways that provide you with a new group of people in your life.

 4. It gives a new perspective

Play is supposed to be a part of the rhythm of life. It uses a different kind of energy than work and it refreshes us.

How do adults find balance between work and play?

For children growing up, play is important as it strengthens their social skills, utilizes their imagination and provides space to work out questions or ideas they have. We could definitely learn something from kids by adding play to our lives. Children have play already built into their day with recess and play dates. For adults to make time for play, that may mean adding it to the to-do list, writing it on our calendar or carving out a time weekly for it. Play doesn’t have to be complicated; it could be as simple as throwing a Frisbee at the park, planting flowers, or playing a board game.

If you feel like you are struggling to find this balance, Christian counseling can help you to figure out what’s missing and to take steps towards leading a more balanced life.

 What can sort of play can you set aside time for this week?

Images cc: freedigitalphotos.com – “Adnan Januzaj R Of Man Utd” by pal2iyawit
“Silhouette Girl Doing Yoga” by ponsuwan