Play Within Your Goal: Part I
“The playing adult steps sideward into another reality,
the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery”
~ Erik H. Erikson
It’s time to nerd out a bit.
On play research.
I’m a huge proponent of play. It’s helped me tremendously. However, lately, I haven’t felt too playful. And, as a result, I’ve felt a bit stuck within my BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL.
Like any good nerd, I did what feels playful to me: I let my curiosity take over and dove into learning something.
Specifically, I wanted to learn more about play.
So, I tuned into a recent episode of the Huberman Lab Podcast: Using Play to Rewire & Improve Your Brain.
And, I learned a ton of cool stuff.
Here’s a mind-minding fact:
Play is homeostatically regulated.
Huh!?! What’s that mean?
Well, in short, it means that we have systems within our body that like to remain in balance.
Let’s take sleep for example. Because, like play, sleep is also homeostatically regulated. In other words, after long periods of wakefulness, you will naturally want to sleep for a long period of time. On the flip side, after long periods of sleep, in general, you will wake up energized and ready to go.
Thirst and water consumption are also homeostatically regulated.
Same with hunger and food consumption.
And then there is play. Researchers have found that when animals and humans are restricted from play for periods of time, they will engage in more play activities—and for longer periods of time—when given the opportunity.
Sleep. Thirst. Hunger. Three core needs of being a human.
According to this research, it seems as if play, too, is a deep-seated need of being human.
Perhaps we can use play to our benefit when it comes to a BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL.
It turns out we can…
Play Encourages Contingency Testing…
…because it releases small amounts of opioids.
Opioids?!?
Well, don’t get too excited.
We’re talking endogenous—self-made—opioids.
These opioids are released by neurons within the Periaqueductal Gray (PAG), and the only reason I threw that term in here is that the PAG sits deep within the brain at the brain stem—another indicator that play is core to being human.
So, why does this matter?
Well, as Huberman says, these opioids “kind of dope you up a bit.”
But, dope you up in a positive way.
When these endogenous opioids are released, they activate our prefrontal cortex, which is the executive functioning center of the brain—the area of the brain that allows us to make predictions and assess contingencies.
In other words, because of play—because of these endogenous opioids—you get smarter:
A BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL is all about seeing and exploring possibilities within your environment, with others, and in the roles that you could potentially assume.
A BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL is all about finding possibilities so that you can tell the story you’ve always wanted to tell.
When it comes to your BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL, through play, you’re more apt to try things.
You’re more likely to see the possibilities within the BIG…
…the opportunities within the SCARY…
…and the contingencies within the HAIRY.
By playing within your goal, you can get unstuck by opening yourself up to a willingness to explore various outcomes and varied roles.
Through play, the stakes are lowered.
Failure is okay.
And outcomes that you didn’t even consider, may be revealed to you and bring you that much closer to the story you’ve always wanted to tell.
What’s your play?