Adulthood isn’t what I expected. There are so many rules, so many societal norms to obey that it can be overwhelming. It strips away the carefree joys of childhood and adolescence for responsibility. We become slaves to jobs that we hate or succumb to the desire to climb the workplace ladder. We spend our days looking forward to five o’clock, looking forward to the weekend, looking forward to vacation.
At least I did. I spent many years at a job that I hated, but I was too afraid of breaking the rules to leave. It’s tough to leave comfort and security, however joyless, for something outside of the norm. It’s tough to grant yourself permission to live the life you want and not the life that the world considers normal.
The problem is, a lot of ‘normal’ adults have lost touch with want they want, so they settle. I certainly did. I stayed at a job that I detested, with a company that made me feel disrespected, for twenty years. I wrote when I wasn’t too tired, or too stressed, but, honestly? I was almost always too tired and stressed. I felt as if my soul was being sucked from my body.
In other words, for me, normal sucked. It’s challenging to be creative when you have no energy at the end of the day. It’s almost impossible to be creative when you’ve forgotten how to play.
Do you remember?
Hanging from the monkey bars, unafraid of the hard dirt below?
Swinging super high on the swings and choosing the perfect moment to jump off?
Digging in the dirt for worms?
Collecting caterpillars and laughing as they crawled your arm?
The excitement of Christmas morning? Or Easter? Or Halloween?
Losing yourself in your favorite story for hours?
Riding your bike with no hands (and in my generation, no helmet)?
Ice skating on the frozen pond?
Do you remember playing pretend?
Or coloring books?
Or watching a parade?
Find a way to remember. Buy an adult coloring book (but don’t worry about making it perfect). Do something that feels a little rebellious. Try something new. Rediscover something old.
Let your inner child out to play. And do it often.
Adulthood is tough. We all need a little playtime.
You never know what you might discover when you remember how to play.
At least I did. I spent many years at a job that I hated, but I was too afraid of breaking the rules to leave. It’s tough to leave comfort and security, however joyless, for something outside of the norm. It’s tough to grant yourself permission to live the life you want and not the life that the world considers normal.
The problem is, a lot of ‘normal’ adults have lost touch with want they want, so they settle. I certainly did. I stayed at a job that I detested, with a company that made me feel disrespected, for twenty years. I wrote when I wasn’t too tired, or too stressed, but, honestly? I was almost always too tired and stressed. I felt as if my soul was being sucked from my body.
In other words, for me, normal sucked. It’s challenging to be creative when you have no energy at the end of the day. It’s almost impossible to be creative when you’ve forgotten how to play.
Do you remember?
Hanging from the monkey bars, unafraid of the hard dirt below?
Swinging super high on the swings and choosing the perfect moment to jump off?
Digging in the dirt for worms?
Collecting caterpillars and laughing as they crawled your arm?
The excitement of Christmas morning? Or Easter? Or Halloween?
Losing yourself in your favorite story for hours?
Riding your bike with no hands (and in my generation, no helmet)?
Ice skating on the frozen pond?
Do you remember playing pretend?
Or coloring books?
Or watching a parade?
Find a way to remember. Buy an adult coloring book (but don’t worry about making it perfect). Do something that feels a little rebellious. Try something new. Rediscover something old.
Let your inner child out to play. And do it often.
Adulthood is tough. We all need a little playtime.
You never know what you might discover when you remember how to play.
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