As a Career Coach, my clients often say they are happy enough in their work, but they don’t feel passionate about it.  I understand that we can often be seeking more satisfaction and fulfillment from our career and think that if we felt passionate about our work, then the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment would be easier to achieve.

Passion is important but not necessary

Passions are important, as they help give life interest and direction. But they are not necessary for career success. The career satisfaction equation does not require you to feel passionate about your work. It’s nice if you are, but by no means necessary.

Purpose matters

Instead, purpose in your work is key. We see purpose as a way to bring meaning to our work and understand the contributions we are making to the organization, as well as society. And, most of us need to find this meaning in our daily work in order to be fully engaged. That is, with purpose, comes engagement.  When we are engaged and purposeful, we more often achieve a greater sense of accomplishment, fulfillment, and yes, satisfaction with the work we undertake.

So where does that leave passion?

Passion is fabulous. It’s motivating, inspiring, and can propel us into action.  Passion helps us do things we might otherwise put off as too hard. Our passion, or others’ passions, can inspire us to try new things, get out of our comfort zones, and move forward turning our dreams into goals and then into measurable, achievable actions.

As great as passion is, play is even more important.

The importance of play

Play helps us discover our passions.

Play is defined as; 'engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.'

According to research undertaken by Dr. Stuart Brown, play is the core of creativity and innovation.  When we are creative, it makes us feel lighter and happier. Using the right side of our brain to explore and play enhances our sense of flow and wellbeing.

Not so surprising. 

But perhaps more surprising, and more importantly, play also shapes our brains, helps us navigate complex social groups, and fosters empathy. 

The busyness that we all experience and the absence of adequate time for play, results in us feeling exhausted. Too many times we give or receive the answer, “Busy!” when being asked or asking a friend how they are... it’s as though productivity and how busy we are has become a status symbol and a measure of our self-worth.

But all this busyness does not contribute to a life of meaning.  Rather, we are actively NOT living a life of intention or meaning when we remove play.

Indeed, two of the major regrets people have at the end of their life are;

• Spending too much time working, and

• Not letting themselves be happier.

Playing, and allowing time to play, is a great way to overcome both of these regrets.

Instead, play connects us with ourselves and our family, especially with our children if we have them. Play is about having fun!  As adults, we often get so busy with our work, families, and to-do lists, we can find the idea of doing something extra, even if it's for fun, is just too much. But life is short, and having fun is important.

To live a life of joy (passion) and meaning (purpose), we need to bring back time and space for play.

Play boosts our confidence

One of the other benefits of spending more time pursuing play, creativity, or a hobby is that it can also boost our confidence in the workplace.

Psychologists from the University of Sheffield found that people who spent longer than normal doing a hobby (i.e. playing!), found their belief in their ability to perform their job improved.

The important factor was that their hobby was not too similar to their job. If your hobby is closely aligned with what you are paid to do for work, the benefits of spending time enjoying your hobby are not as significant.

Clearly, engaging in adult play in the form of a stimulating and enjoyable hobby is not only good for our well-being but also great for our confidence and performance at work.

Play boosts well-being

Play is key to well-being, as playful activities boost our energy. Additionally, taking time out to play can restore our sense of balance and equilibrium and help us reconnect to passions, sense of self, and our soul. 

Relaxation is another benefit of play or creative time. It can be very relaxing to remove ourselves from the everyday pressures, and simply be. Getting lost in creative or playful pursuits is an ideal form of mindfulness.

Just like self-care, playing, or being playful is as essential to our health and functioning as getting enough rest and sleep. Of course, one of the key components of play is the ability to stop. That is, we are not being made to do something. If we are choosing to play, then we can also choose to cease playing. This element of control is crucial, especially for our mental wellbeing.

As a parent, play is good for our kids as well! And not just for them; it is good for them to see US being playful and experience time with us when we are playful. It helps foster stronger, more positive relationships as well as creating wonderful memories together.

When we consider all the things that are fun, and that encourage our curiosity and sense of wonder at the world, we feel lighter.  Perhaps we walk with a little more bounce in our step or feel a smile toying around our mouth.  The anticipation alone of something playful and fun can start these feelings of excitement inside us.

What can play look like for us as adults

Play is time out from the everyday routine and stresses that make up our life. Play can also include pursuing things that light us up – that bring as a sense of joy and excitement. So, for me, play could look like reading, writing, or journaling. Or planning a family holiday or toying around with paints or fabric as I re-decorate a room. Yet, for you, planning a trip or redecorating a room might feel like a chore you’d prefer to delegate.  For my boys, play could be as simple as building with Lego or going for a run in the park.  My husband would include taking a 100-kilometre bicycle ride as play. Yet I would see riding a bike as most definitely NOT fun and therefore, not play! 😉

What we all agree though is that adding items to our bucket list is a playful activity.  And then checking things off our bucket list is always playful; even though sometimes the sense of fun comes after the nerves!

A key element of play is it is personal – what play feels like as adults is unique to each of us.

Intentional Play

Play Is the work of being a child. But their play is often intentional. Teachers or parents intentionally prepare an environment with the appropriate resources and tools to support children to learn the skills they need. Children, therefore, have intentional play. 

But intentional play is not the exclusive domain of children. As adults, we can get clear and intentional about how and when we embrace opportunities for play too.

A simple way to get more intentional about play in your life is to reconnect with what you loved to do as a child, or when you didn’t have the responsibilities that you currently have.

Setting aside a few hours to play with Lego, do board games, draw, complete a puzzle, or just simply daydream is a beautiful way to reconnect with your playful energy. Or if you have less time available, the benefits of play can be felt via just a few minutes of dancing, singing, and/or jumping around to upbeat music – with the volume turned up of course!

If you are keen to intentionally bring more play into your life, you may also like to create a “play list”, also known as an "I intend to…” list. It’s an easy, fun way to get specific and intentional about embracing playfulness in your life over a longer timeframe. Plus, in both the creation of the list and undertaking the experiences you can involve others, which adds to the playfulness.

Play helps us live an intentional life

Play helps us appreciate our lives, that is, be grateful for what we have. And through the action of playing, we remember to stop, be in the moment and enjoy ourselves. Being playful can help remind us to not always be focused on the next item on our To-Do list, but to enjoy and live our life fully in the moment.  To be deliberate in how we spend our time and our energy.

And that is what living an intentional life is all about; supporting us to enjoy and live our life fully.

Play helps us do this.

If you would like to bring more play and fun back into your life, choosing to Design your Season could be the perfect answer for you.

I love the design your season approach and I KNOW it works, and it’s ideal for building in more intentionality in your life - including more time for fun, play, and doing things that feel playful. My Design Your Season offer is a self-led guided workshop and is an easy (and affordable!) way to re-engage with your playfulness, in a way that feels intentional and joyful. And the best bit? I’ve created the self-led workshop to support you at ANY time of year, not just at the beginning of a calendar season. So at whatever time of year, and at whatever phase of life, Design your Season can help.

Sometimes we need more

Workshops can be terrific, but sometimes we need a more specific, tailored approach. As a Career and Life Confidence coach, I support my clients to uncover what an intentional career and life look like for them, so they can have a career and life that is meaningful, purposeful, and aligned with who they are.

All coaching starts with a complimentary consult, where together we determine whether coaching is right for you. You can book your consult here.