A lack of play is like a lack of food – it’s a health risk to your body and mind. Dr. Brown’s earliest research showed that the lack of play, play deprivation, leads to dysfunctional and antisocial behavior. The goal of this Play Note is to help you find the play that feeds your soul so you can make a priority of being play-nourished.
Play, like our fingerprints, is unique to each of us. Two people can play catch and for one it feels playful, for the other it feels stressful. A puppy wagging its tail, jumping at a person’s leg may, in one person, elicit smiles and petting, while another person may be unmoved and ignore the puppy’s appeals.
The types of activities and situations that engage us, that feel internally, personally satisfying are what NIFPlay refers to as your Play Nature.
By looking at what we found playful in our past (and what is playful today) you can gain insights into your Play Nature. We call this doing your Play History.
Play History
Play History is an exercise in which you spend time thinking about what you did over and over as a child or very much like to do as an adult. Look for the activities that you were (are) naturally drawn to and always want(ed) to do. The activities that give you a sense of freedom or satisfaction. Activities that when doing them, you lose track of time. They may be things like:
- Reading … comic books, newspapers or novels?
- Building … forts, houses, or teams?
- Creating … paintings, plays, or songs?
- Moving … biking, hiking or dancing?
- Spectating … art, music or sports?
- With others or on your own?
As you think back on your youth – when play came very easily – recall activities in which you were completely immersed. The times in which you were totally focused on the activity-situation; so focused that you didn’t think about yourself or how others were seeing you; activities in which you may have lost awareness of time. These types of experiences are called being in a state of play or a flow state. They are what play is for you, what brings you deep enjoyment and satisfaction.
As you recall those situations from your youth, allow yourself to expand on the visual images that come to mind. Freely associate, envision in what forms those youthful activities-situations might manifest in your life today. The memories may not come easily; try it often, make notes and build on them over time; it will be worth the effort.
Your Play History will give you insights into what your unique Play Nature is and, hopefully, how it manifests in your life today. With this knowledge you can identify what you can do in your life today to give yourself the gift of more satisfaction and fulfillment. And with those feelings comes reduced stress, along with more resiliency, optimism and social flexibility.
Questions to Facilitate Taking Your Play History
The Past: Looking backwards
- When have you felt free to do and be what you choose?
- Is that a part of your life now? Why or why not?
- Search your memory for those times in your life when you have felt your very best.
- These are usually authentic/playful experiences and offer clues to activities or situations that are playful to you today.
- Look at photos of yourself prior to age 8. What provided laughter or glee? Do they indicate anything about the type of play that engages you?
- Can you recall playful activities/situations where you found yourself both engaged and satisfied?
- Playful experiences are often ones in which you are so engaged that you realize that more time has passed than expected.
- During these experiences you may forget about other responsibilities and feel that you are in “flow”.
- What have been impediments to play in your life?
- As you grew older, how and why did some kinds of play disappear from your repertoire?
The Present: Looking at today
- What activities/situations do you now experience that allow you to feel both engaged and satisfied?
- What do you feel stands in the way of your achieving some times of personal joy?
- Are you now able to feel that what engages you most is almost effortless?
- If not, imagine settings that allow that sort of engagement.
- Have you discovered ways of reinitiating youthful play that work for you now in your adult life?
- How free do you feel now as you play with your spouse or your family? If you feel those times are an extension of a dutiful responsibility, can you change that?
These questions should help you trigger a journey through your past into the present. Don’t expect to answer all of them. Some will trigger thoughts, others will draw a blank. Use them to remember your unique play temperament and how you have played over the years. Inventory the whole of your life through the lens of play. Try to relive the satisfaction, fulfillment and joy that you experienced. Then, identify what you can do now that might let you re-create those positive feelings.
History of Play Histories, Play Nature, Play Personalities
Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, created the concepts of Play History, Play Nature and Play Personality.
He is a pioneer in the development and use of Play History as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool. In an interview published in the 2009 issue of the American Journal of Play, he outlines the evolution of his Play History model.
Dr. Brown’s qualitative research, consisting of over 6,000 play histories, led him to develop the concepts of Play Nature and Play Personality. He says that:
If you are naturally or innately motivated to undertake an activity that gives you an internal, personal feeling of satisfaction or fulfillment, you have identified an aspect of your Play Nature. Your Play Nature is made up of the joyful and deeply satisfying activities and situations you identify in your Play History.
The behaviors you present to others, when you are involved in innately motivated, playful, fulfilling activities indicate your Play Personality. The characteristics of those behaviors point to the type(s) of Play Personality you have. Dr. Brown identified eight core play personality types, but they are by no means scientifically definitive. Here is another set of Play Personality types.
Example: Dr. Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall is an internationally known ethologist and conservationist. Her pioneering work, nearly 65 years ago, made clear that characteristics that were thought to be exclusive to humans – personality, emotions and tool making – are in fact shared by many of our animal cousins. Over the last 50 years her work expanded to global activism including Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots empowering young people of all ages in 70 countries to become involved in hands-on projects for the community, animals and the environment. Jane Goodall is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute for Play (NIfPlay) and a friend of Stuart Brown MD, founder of the institute.
Jane Goodall – Play History
As Dr. Brown got to know Jane, he was also privileged to spend time with her mother. He asked her “what was Jane like as a little girl”. She responded with the following story. “Jane was an exceptionally energetic, extremely curious child.” Vanne happily remembered and described an incident when Jane was three or four; she independently went into the backyard garden of their home in Bournemouth, England and dug up several worms by hand. She brought the worms (and dirt) into the house, placed them on her bed and began to inspect them, dirt and all. Vanne, coming upon this scene did not chastise her daughter for the obvious mess, instead she joined her in inspecting the worms. She also explained that from a young age, Jane loved a local dog (Rusty); it was clear to Jane’s mom that she had learned a good deal about animal behaviors and emotions from the time she spent with Rusty.
Over 85 years later, Dr. Brown was with Dr. Goodall when she celebrated her 90th birthday. She spoke then publicly about the joy she experienced with the worms, the family dog, and her interest in other animals as a child. She emphasized how much she benefited from her mother allowing, even encouraging her to pursue her curiosity. She highlighted that her mother’s support in those early pursuits were foundational to her subsequent life pursuits.
Dr. Brown believes that these play history vignettes contain insights into Goodall’s play nature and valuable lessons for all parents. They illuminate Goodall’s curiosity-based intrinsic Play Nature. They also demonstrate a powerful example of positive parenting behavior that freed Jane to be guided by what innately, pleasurably engaged her. By validating and encouraging Jane’s playful investigations, Vanne fostered her daughter’s confidence and gave her permission to pursue her passions. Vanne did not impose her own parental controls on Jane, but rather let Jane’s playful curiosity be the unfettered motivational pattern that grew and became world-changing as Jane matured.
Jane Goodall – Play Nature
Our Play Nature is part of us at birth; it is indicated, through our play history, by the environmental stimuli that consistently, playfully engage us. Our Play Nature consists of the stimuli that we consistently and innately want to pursue because those pursuits feel satisfying, meaningful, even joyful to us subjectively. Some of the environmental stimuli that Jane found meaningful, a significant portion of her play nature, was related to animals; she consistently wanted to pursue investigating and understanding them.
Jane Goodall – Play Personality
Our Play Personality is the external, behavioral manifestation of our Play Nature. Considering the eight Play Personality types developed by Dr. Brown, Jane Goodall is an Explorer.
This profile has been reviewed and approved as accurate by a close associate of Dr. Goodall. For more about Dr. Jane Goodall, see the About Jane page on the Jane Goodall Institute website.
