Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Being playful with others
• Part 2 of 3: Being playful yourself
• Part 3 of 3: Go the extra mile
• Tips

With the stress of everyday life and all the other serious problems in the world, it is not always easy to be playful. Still, everyone can make more time for laughter, games, and a more positive outlook on life. Being more playful will lower stress and make you see the world in a more optimistic light. How do you do that? Stop clobbering and follow these steps.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Being playful with others

1. Learn from children. Spending more time with kids is the easiest way to get more playful. Don't play around with them them learn more about life, but learn right from them. See how they view life and how they approach it. Children approach everything with curiosity, enthusiasm and fun, and we can learn a lot from that. Learn to approach life in this more playful way.
   • If you don't have kids of your own, sign up to volunteer with kids, or spend a little more time with the kids of friends or family members. Obviously it is not wise to approach the children of completely unknown people just like that.
2. Play with a pet. If you have a dog or cat (or know someone who has one) you can spend more time with animals. Whether you are going to walk or retrieve a dog, or play with your cat and a toy, does not matter. Playing with animals will allow you to adjust your perspective. You will be able to approach your life in a much more playful and less structured way. You can even double as a dog walker, or babysit your friends' cats when they go on vacation. If this idea really appeals to you, you can also volunteer at an animal shelter.
   • Spending time with nonhumans can also help you break through the fabric of life. In this way you can learn to approach things a little less rigidly orchestrated.
3. Go dance. Go salsa dancing, take Zumba lessons or go to the club with your friends. Let your hair down and dance to completely ridiculous or stupid music. It doesn't have to look so good; it's about feeling good. And the more you dance, the more you can let yourself go. You will feel relaxed and let go of your inhibitions, which will make you a lot more playful.
   • You can let yourself go even more on dances with specific moves, such as “The Dougie”, “The Cupid Shuffle or even“ The Harlem Shake ”, because you are completely absorbed in the moment.
   • You don't have to be a good dancer to be playful this way!
4. Laugh at yourself. Being able to laugh at yourself when others are around is an incredibly important way to be playful. If you always take yourself seriously and can't admit that you've embarrassed yourself, made a stupid comment, or inadvertently done something hilarious, then you will never be able to be playful. If you can laugh at yourself, you will show people that you are fun to be around; and not a bummer who is constantly serious.
   • Being able to laugh at yourself can also help you relax, which in turn can make you more playful.
5. Hit people gently (and not hard). If you're hanging out with close friends and you're in the middle of a non-discussion, you can try to gently hit or push each other. This works best if, for example, you are walking on the beach or sitting in a park somewhere; it doesn't work as well if you're eating in a restaurant or on a formal occasion. Playing around gently with your friends when the time is right can help you relax. That way you can be more playful in the way you approach life and your friendships.
   • Just make sure that you know the other person well enough, and that you take a slap or a push yourself every now and then.
6. Tease your friends a little. The ability to tease people is an important part of being playful. This means that you know people well enough to poke fun at their little whims, from their obsession with chocolate to their clumsy nature. As long as the teasing isn't too mean or over the top, teasing back and forth can make you a more playful person.
   • The more you tease people, the better you will know where their boundaries are.
   • Teasing will remind you to be more playful and not to take life too seriously.
7. Start a tickle fight. Tickle fights are ideal for becoming more playful in everyday life. If you have a child, he / she will be your main target. Your partner is also very suitable as prey. A good friend can also be a good target for the tickle fight, provided he / she is the right person for it and you choose your moments carefully. Sit back, have fun and try to tickle the people around you - this is a great way to be more playful.
   • Again, just make sure you're comfortable with whoever is trying to tickle you. Look before you leap.
8. Play games. Making a goal of playing more games is a great way to be more playful. Bringing people together for a game night, or spontaneously pulling out a board game when you're with friends, can provide some welcome change. This way you can vary your social life a bit and become more playful. How about a musical chair? Maybe a game of Human Annoying You Not? Here are some other games you can play:
   • Risk
   • A game of cards
   • Impress your friends with some magic tricks. See if they can find out how you did them.
   • Board games
   • Hints
   • Twister
   • Blink command
9. Participate in more sports. Exercising without taking it too seriously is a great way to get more playful. Plus, you can spend more time with your friends. If you have a good relationship with your colleagues, or would like to, you can also organize a weekly or monthly bowling evening. Or start a futsal team with your colleagues. You can also join an after-school volleyball team or ask a good friend to play tennis or basketball with you.
   • By doing more sports, you will worry less about your work and become a more playful person.
10. Be sporty. Don't be a bad loser! There is no point in taking anything personally. If you are too concerned with being polite and decent, you will lose playfulness and humor. If you accidentally say something inappropriate, apologize for it. But the game involves a certain amount of competition and teasing that creates a healthy tension.
11. Make silly jokes. Everyone loves jokes - it doesn't matter how corny they are. If you want to be more playful, you can learn some hackneyed jokes to try out. As long as you don't tell them too seriously and make it clear that you are on the chain, the jokes will be interpreted appropriately; if people can't laugh at it, they'll at least acknowledge your attempt at humor - whether it's a pun or a strange reference. You can try icebreakers, short anecdotes, whatever. Just try to make some jokes.
    • Give this one a try. Say out loud, "Polar bear!" When your friends look at you, shrug and say, “What? I'm just trying to break the ice! ”
    • You can also try a reverse knock-knock joke. Tell your friend that you know a great knock-knock joke, and say, "Okay, you start…" Your friend will then say, "Knock-knock". Then you say, "Who's there?" Then you can laugh at your friend's confusion when he realizes he doesn't have an answer.
12. Organize a fancy dress party. It doesn't have to be a carnival to dress up. Dressing up helps people to let go of their identity and to look at life in a more playful way. You can always organize a fancy dress party, and it is guaranteed to make you feel more playful. Here are some great ideas:
    • Have everyone dress up as their favorite animal
    • Host an “ugly Christmas sweaters” party
    • Have people dress up as their childhood idols
    • Have people dress up as literary characters
    • Host an alien party
    • Organize a transvestite party
    • Organize a mafia party

Part 2 of 3: Being playful yourself

1. Take a walk without a destination. Get out of the house and make a goal of walking for half an hour in a direction you've never been before. Pay attention to what you see outside. For example, try to count the number of dogs, lampposts, oak trees or sunflowers. Do not go on the phone and do not think about your work; try to take in as much of the environment as possible.
   • You can bring your phone, but only for emergencies!
2. Make art for yourself. Don't make the art with the aim of selling it or impressing other people. Tell yourself you're making something for yourself - just for yourself. You can sculpt an image of your cat, write a short story about your childhood, write your own limerick, or sing a song about your least favorite vegetables. You can also create fun or meaningful works of art with oil and watercolor.Turn off your phone, computer, and other distractions so you can fully focus on your art.
   • Allow at least two hours for this. Concentrate fully on your creation; nowhere else.
3. Write fridge poetry. Hang a number of magnetic letters on your fridge and write a poem every morning with the magnets. Doing this in the morning will make you more alert, your creativity will flow, and you will feel a lot more playful throughout the day. If you don't have time to write a poem every morning, try writing one every Sunday morning to participate in throughout the week.
   • If you have a friend over, ask him / her to mix up the words
4. Make funny faces in the mirror. This is a good way to keep yourself from taking everything so seriously. It is also an excellent way to relieve stress if you are in intense situations and you can use some distraction. Look at yourself in the mirror and pull at least four funny faces. You can stick out your tongue, growl, make your eyes bulge, or grit your teeth. Keep doing this until you've managed to make yourself laugh.
   • If you have a friend who also has a few minutes to spare, send each other pictures of you making funny faces.
5. Watch funny videos on YouTube. Who says you don't have time on YouTube to watch cats playing with bananas or the funny videos of EnzoKnol? Everyone has five minutes for that. So go to YouTube and look for videos that make you shake the liver. You can also save your favorite movies as bookmarks so they can make you laugh every time - even if it's just a ten-second movie of soccer blunders. Play the videos one after the other if you need to let off some steam. You will soon feel more relaxed and playful.
   • If you're feeling really playful, you can also create and upload your own YouTube video.
6. Laugh alone. You can laugh in the company of others, but of course you can also do it yourself. Do whatever you need to do to make yourself laugh. Watch videos on YouTube, read the comics in the newspaper, watch Wire steel if you stay at home, a series like The Big Bang Theory, or stand-up comedy. Do this until you are in a dent. If you can laugh on your own, you will become a more playful and cheerful person, and it will be easier for you to laugh with other people as well.
   • Finding something that really makes you laugh can help you share it with others. Maybe you have found a really good video on YouTube that will be an absolute hit at parties.
7. Practice yoga. Yoga contains a good dose of playfulness, and is about discovering what your body can and cannot do. Yoga exercises can be done in many ways, and most yoga courses have plenty of room for flexibility and playfulness. Whether you choose the eagle, the mountain pose, or the cobra - in yoga you can give your creative egg.
   • Yoga offers room for discovery, which is exactly what you need to be more playful. Don't be shy about trying things outside of your comfort zone - that's what yoga is all about.

Part 3 of 3: Go the extra mile

1. Be more energetic. The more energy you have, the more playful you can be. Fatigue is one of the reasons people stop being playful. They are then too tired to play games or too tired to take the world less seriously. So try to eat three balanced meals a day, get plenty of rest, and socialize with friends. Avoid things that make you so tired that you can't even smile.
   • There are a million ways you can become more energetic. For example, you can choose to change socks halfway through the day, or wear more colored clothes to radiate more energy.
2. Say "yes" more often. This is also a great way to get more playful. As a child you said "yes" to all the new things that were presented to you. As you got older, you got used to your habits and routine, and interest in new things diminished a bit. So if you want to be more playful, you should accept invitations more often. So say “yes” more often when someone asks you to go to the zoo, asks you if you want to learn how to juggle, or if you ask if you want to make pottery together. It is guaranteed to benefit you.
   • Make a goal of saying yes at least 30% more in your every day life.
     1. • Try to say “yes” at least 30% more often in your life.
   • Stop making excuses. The next time you decline an invitation, ask yourself what's really holding you back. Is it fatigue? Laziness? The fear of trying something new?
3. Get out of the comfort zone. Stepping out of the comfort zone will allow you to become a truly playful person. Do something that terrifies you. For example, take swimming lessons, have dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant, or hang out with a group of people with whom you have nothing in common. This will teach you that there is more to learn and do than you ever thought possible, and that the things that made you feel uncomfortable can be the most satisfying.
   • You can never be really playful if you keep doing the same five old boring things every week. At least once a week, try to do something that makes you uncomfortable.
   • Hang out with people who challenge you to try new things.
4. Make time for playfulness. Many people are not playful enough because they simply do not have time for it. Set aside at least three hours a week for your "playtime". You can even put it in your diary that you shouldn't take life so seriously during these hours. You may think that scheduling fun and carefree actions misses the mark, but it is not at all. On the contrary, making time to be playful is half the battle.
5. Don't let others put you down. Stay positive if someone rolls their eyes when you are joking or flirting. Think about what a child would do: fall, get up, shrug, and find a new playmate.
6. Live in the here and now. Living in the here and now means living as if there will be no tomorrow. This will take some practice, but you will end up living a fuller life. To do this, you must be able to recognize beauty in every moment and activity. The most playful people are those who are completely “tuned” to the present. They are so fascinated with the world around them that they are always trying to make the most of it!
7. Smile more. Do your best to smile more. Smile more when you're alone, when you pass strangers in the street, when you're in the classroom, or when you're chilling out with old friends. In this way you will become a more playful person who is open to the positive energy in the world. You won't be able to be very playful if you keep frowning your brows. Smiling more often will make you more open to all the games and all the fun the world has to offer.
   • You can smile even when no one else is around. Smiling when you are alone will make your perspective more positive and playful.

Tips

• If someone tells you to stop (for example, if he / she is in a bad mood or dislikes playful behavior), stop. It doesn't mean they don't like you; it means they just don't feel like playing.
• While being playful has a lot to do with finding your inner child, there is a world of difference between "childish" and "childish". Playfulness does not necessarily mean outbursts of anger, childish ignorance or mischief.