I am delighted to be able to share another guest post by my friend Taryn Laakso. Her previous guest posts are “Recognizing Opportunity: The Case of the Golden Raspberries” and “Taryn Laakso: Righting Your Ship Before You Capsize.”

I was challenged in a Powered by Play program earlier this year, lead by the delightful Play & Burnout Coach, Kaitlyn Lyons that went deep into learning my unique playstyle because I was on the verge of burnout. After 6 months of breaking away from corporate and spending 55+ hours a week building my coaching business during a pandemic, I forgot all about what rest, play, and fun was. I was going into a dark place with my well-being. My battery charge was on the brink of 0%.

My inner Sage was screaming at me to take care of myself but I felt like my options for getting rest and play weren't available to me due to the pandemic restrictions.  I found myself comparing or judging others who seemed to be having fun on social media. I didn't like this feeling within myself. It felt icky! I needed to do something about this quick.

 Hot Tip! Feelings of envy or judgment towards others is a clear signal that something is off!

What I discovered is that my version of rest and play is not something I should compare to someone else's version. Did you know there are 8 different personalities of play according to Dr. Stuart Brown?

For me, my ideal fun is movement, exploring, and storytelling. Staying at home and not traveling was a big hit to my play power levels. Some of the elements of Mover and Explorer meant traveling, backpacking, and dancing for me. Storytelling is about enjoying books, plays, watching movies, and reading books. Screech! I wasn’t doing any of this! I wasn't traveling, dancing, seeing plays, going to a new movie, or reading for fun.  I had been heavy in reading about leadership and business building books. I was sitting behind my desk working on my business. Travel was out the window. 

No wonder my battery was running on empty and my saboteurs were taking over my mental well being. All those ways of playing that I took for granted weren’t available. Here’s the impact when the dark side wants to take over…

I took it out on my partner by criticizing him, judging myself, and avoiding talking about my feelings.  I am so grateful for the mental muscles I was building through the Positive Intelligence®  work that allowed me to notice quickly how my Sage voice within was telling me to make a change. Pronto!

This meant the 10 Saboteurs from the Positive Intelligence work were creating a band of bullies at the playground in my head during this time. Here’s the line up of the entire bully band: 

The Judge, Avoider, Controller, Hyper-Achiever, Hyper-Rational, Hyper-Vigilant, Pleaser, Restless, Stickler, and Victim. 

For me,  it was The Judge, Avoider, Hyper-Achiever, and Hyper-Rational that were depleting my energy by all their negative chatter in my head. Some serious butt-kicking was needed to evict them out of my head. It meant taking action of giving myself permission to rest and play.  I enjoyed reading a mindless novel, took days off, traveled to Pt. Townsend or Lopez Island and walked outside as much as possible. Even if this meant working fewer hours and being less 'productive'. It was critical for recharging the batteries AND I actually got more done because I was rested. 

It may feel hard to give yourself permission to rest and play. Here's what I know happens when you rest and play.

• You are recharged

• You are nicer to yourself and others

• Your creativity is ignited

Do you want to feel rested, recharged, calm, and have a better relationship with your loved ones?

Don't let your saboteurs hijack you into thinking you have to 'push through' and create the 'perfect' holidays this year.

 What fun can you create with the circumstances you are in right now?

 What was something you loved to do when you 5 years old around the holidays?

 What is something you are tolerating about the holidays that you would love to change?

This past weekend, we created fun indoors. The kids designed an obstacle course throughout the house as part of a 6 event mini Olympics. My attempt at creating and flying a paper airplane was a mess, but I laughed the whole time. We also had a competition building gingerbread houses. The winner was the one that looked like a sailboat! And yes, without shame, I admit that we had an event that was based on Beer Pong, sans the beer. I flexed my old college memory muscles for this one and beat my eldest daughter. Check out the video here of the time-lapse non-beer pong challenge. 

So give yourself permission to create fun, rest and play while building stronger relationships with your family. Need ideas? Schedule time with me and I am happy to share what we've been up to!  

We can also explore things you are judging yourself for and activate your fun and playful side in my next 7-week Mental Fitness Bootcamp. Registration is open now with limited spots! Bootcamp starts next Monday, December 7th.

It’s the perfect opportunity to see how judging ourselves or others could be putting a damper on play and joy this coming holiday season. You have a choice on how to experience your life. You get to redesign your definition of rest and play.

Want to turn this holiday into your own gift of joy? I'll show you how. Click here to learn more at www.bootcamp.unlaakingyourpotential.com

All the best in this messy and imperfect world,

Taryn Laakso, ACC | CPCC
Unlaaking Your Potential, LLC
 

Taryn Laakso provides individualized 1-on-1 coaching, group coaching programs, and resources designed to ignite creativity, stoke the flames of inspiration, and guide clients in developing their own inner wisdom. After years of working as an HR professional, she brings a consultative approach to her coaching and is passionate about working with entrepreneurial leaders who are transitioning out of their corporate careers and toward their passion work.

She is differentiated by her focus on mindset and weaves together a variety of coaching tools in her approach to transforming the lives of her clients. Taryn views herself as a “sherpa” whose role it is to guide her clients through their journey from a life of practicality and fear to a life of passion and purpose along with profit.

Outside of coaching, Taryn loves cooking, sailing, backpacking in the Pacific Northwest, reading, and spending quality time with her blended family.