What if the key to thriving in this world of ever-increasing change was to treat every challenge you face as a game in the amusement park of life?
More often than not these days, I find the key to receiving a clear call to action — inspired action — is to playfully approach every new idea, opportunity, and yes, even challenge. Don’t take it too seriously. Don’t commit to getting to the answer right away. Explore. Be curious. Try out a possible solution just for the fun of seeing whether or not it will work.
You might have mistakenly come to the conclusion (or believed what someone told you) that being an adult meant throwing out all of the natural gifts and abilities of childhood. So, you took on the weight of the world and filled your days with to-do lists, responsibilities, and worries (so you could be proactive and prepare for the worst). Ugh. I’m exhausted just writing this (and remembering when this described my life).
Yet, as I dive into living a life from one inspired action step to the next, I find myself called to dust off and reawaken the gifts of childhood: imagination, curiosity, intuition, no worries about what might happen a year from now, moving from one present moment game and experience to the next, and more.
To be playful is to be open to the possibilities. When you are truly open, you allow the Divine flow of wisdom to come through. Then, the Divine Right Action at the Divine Right Time naturally occurs. But, you can’t be truly open when you’re worried about failure (or success), what others will think, whether or not you deserve to be in the flow, and so on.
What if you could bring the playfulness of the lemonade stand into your decision-making right now? What possibilties could open up for you then?
The best example I can give of this is the lemonade stand. That childhood plunge into the world of business many of us took at least once. It was a game. You didn’t second guess your inspiration to play that game. You were just inspired to do it.
You didn’t really care whether or not you made a dime. If you did make money, it was great fun to play the lemonade stand game and you went onto the next game the next day.
If you didn’t make any money or no one showed up, it sucked and you went onto the next game the next day. The results meant nothing past the day you experienced playing the game, so you stayed open to Divine inspiration regardless of the result.
Of course you have big responsibilities now, but too much focus on the to-do list, the “shoulds,” and the worries about all that might go wrong or right, takes you away from the powerful wisdom available to you in the present moment and away from truly enjoying the experience of what this day brings.
You may have shut down the gifts from childhood because of painful experiences that resulted from playing a game. But, what if, like the lemonade stand example, the results of an earlier game you played have nothing to do with the games you’re playing now? What if your judgment about the past is keeping you from receiving the Divine inspiration you need to make the games you’re playing now the best games of your life?
Perhaps your inspired action step today is to step back and view your current challenges from the perspective and wisdom of an eight-year-old. Perhaps you’re called to play with the notion that your biggest frustration right now is just a juicy game. How might that thought lead to an Aha! Moment or the solution you’re looking for? Just curious.
What inspired action step are you called to take today?