I call sleep “The Great Sleep Mystery.” It has always baffled me. And angered me. I have so much I want to do in life, and sleep always seemed to get in my way.
The Great Sleep Mystery
So for half of my life (maybe more), I have fought sleep. Resisted, tampered with it, and especially purposefully pushed myself to not sleep. I’ve realized now just how wrong I’ve been about this.
Many of us have been lied to. We were told that play is trivial. That it is a waste of time …unnecessary … childish. And this is further from the truth.
Play
Play is essential in many ways. Stuart Brown, the founder of the National Institute for Play, has studied over six thousand individuals and has concluded that play has the power to significantly improve everything from personal health to relationships to education to organizations’ ability to innovate. “Play,” he says, “leads to brain plasticity, adaptability, and creativity.” As he succinctly puts it, “Nothing fires up the brain like play.”
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I want to get personal today and tell you about some of my struggles (and successes) with Essentialism. Also, I need your help! I discuss some of the future of First Things podcast in this episode.
My Essentials
I hope you will consider taking the first annual survey of First Things listeners. The survey link is in the Show Notes below. There are only 10 questions, and it is completely anonymous.
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Take the Survey!
Do you know how to LOOK for essentialism in your life? How to find the essential things in your life? Many people struggle with this vital aspect.
Look
We discuss some exercises you can do to find that “signal” among the noise of your life. If you know what to look for, it is often easier to hear that signal in your life.
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Space … we all desperately need it, yet our society does not give us space by default. We must proactively build space into our lives.
space
We need to set aside time to take a breath, look around, and think. You need that level of clarity in order to innovate and grow. We talk about the issue of space in our continued study on Essentialism.
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