PLAY Untethered
So, what does finding more PLAY have to do with life’s transitions and planning?
For me, it’s a daily practice of chasing the joy and believing that I am enough even when I’m stuck and have no idea what the heck I’m doing.
I can confidently say that “chasing the joy, PLAY’ful Heidi'' has way more capacity for dealing with the uncertainties of life than “striving to be perfect Heidi” ever does. And I’m launching a hot air balloon about it because I’m a firm believer we need all the joy, PLAY, and capacity we can get…for ourselves and for one another.
Passion, Love, Authenticity, You ( PLAY ) invites a lightness and a sense of flow to navigate the fear that is naturally a part of change- the fear of the unknowns, fear of failure, fear of experiencing pain, or even worse…shame. These fears may be what lead us to striving for the “perfect plans.” Naturally, we desire structure and a sense of control as we navigate change.
“When perfectionism is driving us, shame is always riding shotgun and fear is the backseat driver.” Brené Brown
Perhaps you can relate to using perfectionism, or rigid planning, to avoid that kind of fear. And why wouldn’t we?! Plus, perfectionism gets results, and might even make us look good. But even though at first that perfectionist drive might feel reassuring, it’s often unattainable and ultimately depleting if we don’t counter-balance it.
And here’s the kicker, toxic perfectionism disconnects us from our Truth- our True “why” behind the plan and how we honestly want to show up. When we disconnect from ourselves, we disconnect from the opportunities available in the moment.
So then, we may feel stuck. We question why we’re not moving forward because it’s such a “perfect plan!” And maybe it is.
Balancing perfectionism with PLAY allows us to create an adaptive plan and one we truly want! PLAY invites confidence and flexibility. It brings ease, curiosity, and creativity. With this balance, clarity and even humor are possible, which sustain us during uncertainty. Playfulness releases our self-judgment and opens us to perspectives and solutions. How great is that experience of freedom along side the security of having a plan!
Boom, unstuck!
If this is resonating, I invite you to explore these questions:
How is perfectionism currently serving you?
What is a frequent motivator for creating a “perfect plan?”
How is this kind of planning possibly limiting you?
How would your goals or desires potentially shift if you invited more PLAY as part of planning?
Reach out with thoughts or questions you have around PLAY at heidi@coachheidiv.com.
The unknowns of how our plans will play out are for real, but together we’ll discover a bit of fun and PLAY'ful ease to balance out the uncertainties and expand the possibilities.
