Kerry Ogden, M.A. » play

Work/Play

Kerry — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:22:39 +0000

The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he’s always doing both. – James Michener

Make Creativity Dates

Kerry — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:16:49 +0000

Instead of waiting (and waiting0 for flashes of inspiration, schedule a weekly date to exercise your own creativity, whether it’s a sewing class, a craft night with friends, or just an hour to pursue a hobby. The goal isn’t to produce a work of art, but to let your mind expand in new ways and continue to grow, literally. Research shows, activating the brain by learning novel skills over time enhances memory and helps new brain cells survive.

Do Lunch

Kerry — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:08:11 +0000

Schedule a weekly lunch date with a rotating cast of characters like your partner, close friends, coworkers or anyone you’d like to get to know better. Studies show people with strong, diverse social networks live longer, experience less mental decline as they age, and have greater resistance to infectious disease.

Play Time

Kerry — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:00:24 +0000

Play is one of the keys to good health. Are you getting your daily dose?

Quick, what’s completely pointless and absolutely indispensable? Why it’s play, of course.

Sadly, we don’t get nearly enough play time with negative ramifications for our health and relationships. ”We are pushed from play, shamed into rejecting it by a culture that doesn’t understand the human need for it,” according to Stuart Brown, M.D., author of Play: How It Shapes the Brain. “Playing is seen as a childish activity not done in the adult world.”

Phooey!

The remedy, luckily, needn’t involve hopscotch or skipping rope (unless that’s your thing). Brown defines play as any apparently purposeless, inherently attractive endeavor that makes us forget time and ourselves. Reading Shakespeare qualifies is you really want to do it. Same goes for knitting a scarf, studying algebra, or listening to Merle Haggard.

If you love it and lose yourself in it, it’s playtime.

Done with dread or out of obligation, it’s something else. “To really regain play in your life, you will need to take a journey back into the past to help create avenues for play that work for you in the present,” says Brown. In other words, think back to something that gave you that goofy, happy feeling when you were young, and dream up ways to re-create that feeling now.

Go ahead…I double dare you.

Have Some Fun

Kerry — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:14:06 +0000

Whether you are trying to eat better, exercise more or connect with loved ones, be sure to prioritize enjoyment, says Joan Borysenko, author of Inner Peace for Busy Women. “When I’m forming a new health habit, it doesn’t work for me unless it brings me pleasure,” she says. “If it feels like duty, I just let it go after a while. So I try to find a way to have fun getting healthy. To get exercise, I go outside and romp around with my dogs.”

Remember, being creative is part of the fun.