each and every one of us developed a " play personality" when we played throughout our childhood and hopefully, if we are lucky, we have maintained it well into adulthood [dusts off cobwebs]. play is a natural, internal drive like sleeping or pressing buttons that say "don't push" and if we can express our playful tendencies as adults it allows us to continue to develop, adapt, learn and ultimately find new ways to enjoy the world around us. the risk of suppressing our playful sides is the same as all animals that grow through play, we stagnate! our behaviour becomes fixed and our interest in new and different things diminish, leaving us with fewer things to enjoy in life...bummer!
thankfully, play as an adult can take many forms and credit goes to super playful dude, dr stuart brown who identifies 8 "play personalities" leaving us with just one question...what is your play personality?
the JOKER:
the "basic bit*h" of play personalities and pretty self explanatory but we all know one and deep down love them. the class clown, the practical joker, the fart noise maker at a funeral. some jokers will take us to the extreme of silly and occasionally outrageous but these inherently fun humans can bring light to dark situations and will never stop at just the one cheese joke...HALLOUMIIII
the MOVER:
some people just need to move their bodies in order to think. be it running, dancing, climbing or simply practicing the YMCA, there is peace within movement and without it a "kinesthete" can lose interest fast! as a self confessed mover i can personally account for the struggle in sedentary or skill games lacking movement, hell i even have to do laps of the house whilst brushing my teeth!
the EXPLORER:
we are all natural born explorers, from day 1 we set out exploring our surroundings and the people around us but not all of us retain that enthusiasm to seek out new experiences. the true explorer loves to experience new places, games, feelings, rules, friendships and can be found doing so with other people in tow, like to social little butterflies they often are.
the COMPETITOR:
we all know one because, like cross-fit, they will always let you know! whether it is a friendly game of british bulldogs or a victory to the top of the stairs against an unawares opponent, these competitive souls love to win and from being the best comes their playful enjoyment of games, business and ultimately life.
the DIRECTOR:
if you are the party planner, the play maker or simply just the bossy one in your friend group then it is likely that you are a natural born director. the directors version of play normally encompasses some level of control or orchestration, ultimately we are but players in the puppet masters game!
the COLLECTOR:
the collectors among us can be harder to identify most collections are inherently individual pursuits... until you stumble upon their outrageous star wars lego collection looking for the spare loo roll! from coins to wines and pokemon cards to 1998 world cup shiny stickers the collector finds pleasure in the obscure and the rare, just don't touch that LE...GOHHHH!!
the CREATOR:
who knew that the iron lady had such a fetish for putting up wall paper? apparently maggie was the archetypal creator and loved nothing more than smearing the walls of #10 with perfectly lined up flower prints. from inventing, designing, decorating and constructing the creator can reshape a game in seconds or come up with an entirely new one...any excuse to unleash their inner bowie.
the STORYTELLER:
these imaginative souls are the performers out there that like to create stories to accompany our games, whether it is a detailed storyline to accompany a game of dragons den or a GoPro takeover they are always guaranteed to bring a bit of magic to the party and a bit of laughter to a play time!
reading through the list you might be thinking the doc has lost his marbles, too much time building tree houses because you don't fit into any of his boxes! but doc brown does admit that most people will draw on different personalities in different situations. if you're still struggling then have a think, when was the last time you actually played? adult life doesn't always make it easy and that is why we believe that active souls can play such an important role in your life!
active souls is more than exercise, its more than fun and laughter and making friends. active souls is social, its a form of escapism and mindfulness, it allows you to connect with the outdoors and rebel against the masses...ultimately, active souls is play and our play personality is still developing! come and unleash your inner child and allow your play personality to develop with us, come and see why doc brown is so right and why more and more people are becoming active souls, come and play!
if you want to come along and re-discover your play personality then check out our play times here and we look forward to seeing you at one of our play times soon!
see you there, mikey x
ps. tip your it...and no, you can't tip your butcher!
Comments