The benefits of play for lawyers was the topic of my presentation in Orlando on March 26, at the Florida Bar's Solo & Small Firm Annual Conference. (Notes from the presentation.) I received many comments afterwords from attendees about how the session resulted in their reevaluating how they spend their time. Susan Cartiel Liebel (who gave an excellent keynote at the conference) said that two lawyers told her, "Stephanie gave me permission to play."
Partly because of my Florida program and also as a result of writing this blog post, I have been thinking much about play. I also have been watching people through a play lens. Do people play? How? When? Why? And most of all: What keeps people from playing?
During my session, I asked lawyers to describe the downsides of play. They were quite complete and honest in listing many of the reasons people, particularly lawyers, stay away from play. The reasons given ranged from "waste of time" to "I might like it too much and not work."
Then we looked at the benefits of play, some of which are:
- Facilitates creativity and innovation
- Helps you discover what you really value
- Reduces stress
- Promotes curiosity
- Creates new, fresh synapses
In short, it opens life up. Horizons get larger. Possibilities and options increase.
To hear more of the benefits of play, listen to this interview of Dr. Stuart Brown titled "Play, Spirit, and Character" (Speaking of Faith). He believes play "promotes trust, empathy and adaptability to
life's complication." Those of you who have heard me talk about play know that I recommend Dr. Brown's book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul.
In addition to human beings, play is natural to many other, if not most other, species. If you haven't seen the orangutan and the dog playing, click here or here. How about the polar bear and the dog? Watching them all makes me happy, and they remind me of play's strong call.
Returning to the question of whether it is valuable for lawyers to play, I certainly believe so. But I'd like to know what you think. Please let me hear from you. I will appreciate equally your yes, your no, or your maybe.
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