JEFF HARRY'S
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY PLAYLIST
I believe that play is as important as breathing, sleeping, and love. It's where so much of our happiness, fulfillment, and creativity comes from.
JEFF HARRY
Welcome to the Positive Psychology Playlist!
Inspired by the Flourishing Center's Certified Applied Positive Psychology Program, the goal is to gamify positive psychology modules, so you can incorporate them into your everyday life. If you'd like to cultivate more of a certain aspect of positive psychology, click on the link below and try one of the play challenges. Observe what occurs for you through the play. Share your results with the Rediscover Your Play Tribe, tag @jeffharryplays on Instagram or Twitter.
It promises to be a fun, adventurous, and fulfilling ride.
Special Thanks To Louis Alloro and the CAPP.65 Los Angeles Cohort!
“Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning. It aims to discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive.”
Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman, Founder of Positive Psychology
“Positive psychology is about helping people move ‘North of Neutral.’
Positive psychology in 3 words: Other People Matter.”
Dr. Christopher Peterson, Founding Father of Positive Psychology
Positive Psychology is the science of human flourishing.
These play challenges are designed to apply positive psychology in fun, useful, and powerful way. To take full advantage of the play challenge, it is an important to observe the effect the play has on your mind, body, and spirit, as much as doing the action itself. The more you commit to the play action, the more you will get out of it.
The way the play challenges are broken down is as follows:
These are easiest to do play challenges as you can do this anywhere at anytime
These challenges are to be done with friends or family, so they can both experience it with you, as well as help keep you accountable
Having a partner to do these play challenges helps provide a different perspective, as well as give you an adventure partner that you share this experience with
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
These play challenges are considered stretch goals and are designed to challenge you to push yourself in order to experience a possible breakthrough
The more you are committed to this play challenge, the more you will get a powerful effect from it
Embrace the 20 Seconds of Courage Approach when taking on these challenges
POSITIVITY
How customizable is the content of the workshop to address specific challenges or goals within our organization? Are there opportunities for participants to bring in their own data or workplace scenarios for a more tailored learning experience?
YES! The workshop is fully customizable. After teaching data communications to organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to tiny non-profits for years, I have a full set of modules ready to work directly with your group’s data. This is available in the package.
What methods or techniques will you employ during the workshop to ensure high levels of engagement from all participants, especially in a virtual setting? How do you plan to keep the energy levels up and ensure that the concepts are being absorbed and can be practically applied?
In virtual settings, a meeting assistant will be on the Zoom call to monitor the chat function. I monitor each room during breakout sessions to answer individual questions. For introverts and workers who prefer more time, the deluxe package gives workshop participants the option of scheduling individual follow-up sessions.
The choice map provides you an opportunity to see whether you an embracing a challenge from a Judgemental or Learner approach. By simply catching the judger thoughts, you can help yourself avoid falling into a negative spiral that leads to the judger pit.
Choice Map Inquiry Institute Marilee Adams, Ph D.
Change Your Questions, Change Your Life
Here is the breakdown of the judger path and questions vs. the learner path and questions:
Judger Path: Focuses on what is wrong. React
Automatic Reactions
Blame Focused
Win/Lose Relating
Leads to the JUDGER PIT
Judger Questions* include:
What’s wrong with me?
Whose fault is it?
Why are they so stupid?
How can I prove that I’m right?
Haven’t we been there, done that?
Why bother?
Learner Path: Focuses on possibilities and growth. Choose
Thoughtful Choices
Solutions Focused
Win/Win Relating
Leads to the Learner Path
Learner Questions* include:
What do I want?
What works?
What are the facts and what can I learn? • What are my choices?
What action steps make sense?
What’s possible?
Print Out Choice Map
Catch the judger. Log all the judger thoughts that you have and when you see them, run the thought through the Choice Map Method. See how many judger thoughts you can run through the Choice Map in one day
PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS
Find a partner and for 48 hours, point out to each other whenever one verbalizes a judger thought
Help each other by running your thoughts through the Choice Map Method
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
For one week, log all of your judger thoughts that you notice and as you find them
Run each thought you catch through the Choice Map Method and observ what effect it has on you that week
At the end of the week, compare the number of judger thoughts you had at the beginning of the week to the end of the week
The Luck Factor, Richard Wiseman
Lucky or unlucky people are responsible for much of their fortune through their thoughts and behaviors.
4 Basic Principles of Lucky People
They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities
Make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition
Create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations
Adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good
INDIVIDUAL PLAY CHALLENGE
For a 48-hour period, log every good experience that happens to you, regardless of whether it is big or small
Each time, something good happens, ask yourself with curoisity: How Can It Get Any Better Than this?
Journal about the result
PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS
Gather a group of your friends and prime each other by saying that you will have a lucky outing
Have the group point out and celebrate every time some unexpected positive action occurs (whether it is big or small) and be curious about where that leads
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
In this play challenge, you must trust the universe and the goodness in people
When you next travel, get lost on purpose
Find Your Inner Genius
Through Play
ENGAGEMENT
Why Savoring Works:
Increases positivity
Shifts the focus to what is beautiful, auspicious, delicious and life-enhancing
Increases gratitude
Counters hedonic treadmill and adaptation
“People who are habitually mindful of their current experiences are more likely to experience frequent and intense positive emotions, to feel self- sufficient and competent, and to have positive social relationships.”
The How of Happiness, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky
Three Orientations of Savoring
Reminisce: Look back fondly at a time that you really appreciated
Attentively: Be present in the moment
Anticipatory: Looking at future activities in an appreciative way
4 Pathways of Savoring
Marveling: regulates awe
Thanksgiving: regulates gratitude
Basking: regulates pride.
Luxuriating: regulates physical pleasure
REMINSCING
INDIVIDUAL PLAY CHALLENGE
Close your eyes and think back on a recent journey (I.e. travel, program, conference/retreat, job, etc.) you have been on and identify one of your fondest memories of that experience
What do you appreciate most about that memory?
Journal about what comes up for you
Take a old photo of a really great memory and take 2 - 4 minutes to stare at it, remembering everything from it
Remember the smell, the feeling, who was with you, and why it was such a happy moment
If you want to double down on this challenge, journal about it, writing about what was so amazing about it
PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS
Sit down with a friend and talk about one of your favorite memories with them
Try to see if you can remember the feelings of that experience and what made it so memorable
Measure how you feel before and after you reminisce
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
Share with friend a challenging time in your past and how that experience shaped you
Describe what it was like being in that situation and what made it so memorable
Even though it is challenging, try to think of what you now appreciate about that experience that shaped the rest of your life
ATTENTIVELY
INDIVIDUAL PLAY CHALLENGE
Pick one thing that you are really enjoy doing every day
Be as present as possible in the moment enjoying that particular experience
Example of a particular experience: Enjoying a cup of coffee
Purchase the coffee and take the time to really appreciate the coffee
What is it that you love?
Notice the feel of the warm cup and the smell of the coffee
Observe how each drop rolls down your throat
Compare this moment to your typically experience drinking coffee and observe what is different
PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS
Go with your friend to your favorite restaurant
Order your favorite items off the menu and when eating, take each bite slowly and describe to each other what you enjoy most about that particular food
Simply be present enjoying this meal, removing any distractions from the experience
How does it compare to the top meals you have ever had?
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
For an entire week, chase sunrises and sunsets
When you see a sunrise or sunset, do not document it, but simply watch it until it has completed
Notice throughout the week if you are able to appreciate other experiences with a similar sense of awe
ANTICIPATORY
INDIVIDUAL PLAY CHALLENGE
Pick one play activity you can do this week that will bring you joy.
It could be small or big, just something that really brings you happiness that is exciting and not passive.
Notice if knowing this activity is coming up makes your week more enjoyable
PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS
Make a list of 5 events that you are looking forward to this year with your friends
If you don’t have them already planned, reference the Yearly Play, Joy, Fun Index and come up with a list with a group of your friends/family
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
Choose to do an experience this year that is exciting, nerve-racking, and challenging to your inner core being (I.e. Public Speaking, Skydiving, Traveling Abroad Alone, etc.)
Ask your closest friends to keep you accountable that you will commit to doing it this year
Notice how you feel leading up to this exciting event that may alter your life in a positive way
BONUS WAYS TO SAVOR
Creating Pathways of Savoring
Basking
When you do something that is worthy of praise, all yourself to appreciate all the words of kindness and really embrace the love and positive feedback given to you
Marveling
Identity what puts you in awe (I.e. sunrise/sunsets, nature, powerful feat, etc.) and take the time to experience sitting in that feeling
Thanksgiving
.Share your gratitude and appreciation for others as if you have so much to give and can't give enough
See how that feels to be that grateful and what effect it has on others
Luxuriating
Do something that makes your body feel good (I.e. eating a good meal, sleeping, exercising, massage, etc.) and enjoy fully the process of that experience
Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Father of Flow
What is Flow?
State of intense absorption: “In the zone.”
Feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity
“A psychological state that accompanies highly engaging activities.”
Frequent Flow correlates with:
Life satisfaction
Achievement
Better health
Creativity
Components of Flow:
The task is challenging and requires skill
We concentrate
There are clear goals
We get immediate (an unambiguous) feedback
There is a sense of control
A balance between skill and challenge
Mental focus or strenuous exercise
Intrinsic Motivation
Flow State Triggers:
Steven Kotler, The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance
Psychological triggers
Goal clarity
Immediate feedback
Challenge to skills ratio
Intense concentration
Environmental triggers
High consequences
Rich environments
Deep embodiment
Social triggers
Serious concentration
Clear, shared goals
Good communication
Familiarity
Equal participation and skill level
Risk
Sense of control
Close listening
Always say yes
Creative triggers
Creativity
In order to find our flow, we must create the conditions for a flow state to occur.
INDIVIDUAL PLAY CHALLENGE
Journal about your Ikigai/Zone of Genius
Ask these questions (From The Book: The Big Leap By Gay Hendricks)
WHAT DO I MOST LOVE TO DO?
I love so much I can do it for long stretches of time without getting tired or bored
WHAT WORK DO I DO THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE WORK?
I can do it all day long without ever feeling tired or bored
IN MY WORK, WHAT PRODUCES THE HIGHEST RATIO OF ABUNDANCE AND SATISFACTION TO AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT?
Even if I do only ten seconds or a few minutes of it, an idea or a deeper connection may spring forth that leads to huge value
Whatever it is, find it and I want you to put the highest priority on doing some of it every day
WHAT IS MY UNIQUE ABILITY?
There is a special skill I’m gifted with
This unique ability, fully realized and put to work can provide enormous benefits to me and any organization I serve
PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS
Ask your friends the following questions:
When have you seen me most alive?
When have you seen me the happiest?
What is one ability that I have that makes me truly unique?
What is one way in which I can contribute to the world that could have a tremendous impact?
Based on the answers to these questions, determine if there is a unifying thread between the answers and if so, come up with a plan to pursue that flow experience
Example: Your friends share that you are an amazing writer, so you decide how you are going to devote X amount of time per week on writing or you'll choose to attend a writing retreat
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
For one month, once you identify your Ikigai/Zone of Genius/Flow State, you commit to devoting a certain number of hours a day attempting to cultivate this state/experience
Each day, log your progress on tapping into this flow state as well as your happiness/fulfillment levels after each day, as they may fluctuate
By the end of the month, share with your friends what you have been able to create and/or cultivate and how you feel about the entire process
Take a risk to trust the universe and do whatever is necessary, regardless of how absurd or silly it may be, in order to tap into this flow state
You find that you write better after dancing by yourself, do it
You like to wear silly outfits because it puts you in a creative mindset, do it
You find skipping to bring you more happiness than simply walking, do it
RELATIONSHIPS
Definition of Love:
As a Noun (n):
a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person
a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend
sexual passion or desire
a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart
used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like):
Would you like to see a movie, love?
As a Verb (v):
to have love or affection for: All her pupils love her
to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person)
to have a strong liking for; take great pleasure in: to love music
to need or require; benefit greatly from: Plants love sunlight
to embrace and kiss (someone), as a lover
What Happens When You Fall in Love (Bartels & Zeki, 2000, cited in Peterson, 2007)
Neuroimaging scans of individuals who describe themselves as madly in love resemble that of cocaine addicts.
Pleasure centers are activated when viewing pictures of their loved one, compared to pictures of a friend or a neutral control.
Blinded by Love
“When mothers look at pictures of their own children, brain regions responsible for negative emotions and social comparison are deactivated” (Bartels & Zeki, 2004, cited in Peterson, 2007)
(Until they become teens or the honeymoon phase is over)
Passionate vs. Compassionate Love
Passionate love brings people together
Compassionate love keeps people together
Passionate love is a chemically induced state that is not meant to last otherwise you wouldn’t be able to function
“Passionate love occurs at the beginning of an affair and is marked by extreme absorption and dramatic mood swings, from ecstasy to anguish.
Compassionate love is the unshakable affection shared by two people whose lives have become intertwined” (Peterson, 2007 p. 267)
Passion’s Shelf Life
Passion is subject to Hedonic Adaptation
We’re wired for variety
Typologies of liking, loving and more
Virtuous Love:
Stephen Post and the Institute for Unlimited Love:
Virtuous Love: the dimension of love that entails the intention to benefit the other (Jeffries, 2002, p. 45)
Affiliation:
We have a biological need for affiliation
A research study with laboratory rats showed that the mere physical presence of another rat reduced the physiological effects of stress. A non-stressed rat was most beneficial. (Kiyokawa et al. 2004)
Affiliation refers to “simply wanting to be associated with someone” (Peterson, 2007 p. 264)
‘Misery loves company’
Same is true for people
Schachter (1959) found that students who were told they were expecting to be shocked as part of the experiment preferred to be in the presence of a stranger, compared to control.
Liking vs. Loving “I love you. But I don’t like you right now!”
In liking, people have a positive attitude toward each other.
6 factors predispose people to liking someone (Peterson, 2007, p.265):
Proximity - other things being equal, we like those who live close to us
Similarity - other things being equal, we like those whose personality traits, values and beliefs are similar to ours
Complementarity of needs - other things being equal, we like those who satisfy our needs
High ability - other things being equal, we like those who are competent
Attractiveness - other things being equal, we like those who are physically attractive or otherwise pleasing
Reciprocity - other things being equal, we like those who like us
In order to find our flow, we must create the conditions for a flow state to occur.
INDIVIDUAL PLAY CHALLENGE
Identify your Love Language
Determine the ways in which you are giving love to yourself through that language
PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS & LOVED ONES
Determine their Love Language and express your love to them through this language for one week
Ask them at the end of the week, do they feel any different towards you?
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
For one week, the way you give your love to your closest friends and family, choose to do the same for yourself
Identify ways in which you'd appreciate love and self-compassion and go all in loving yourself
Express your love freely to people that you are close to, but you have never said "I Love You Too."
See how that feels in your body when you do this
MEANING
Meaning vs. Purpose
Research: George & Park (2013) sought to understand the difference between meaning and purpose. They found that they are distinctly different.
A SCIENTIFIC GUIDE TO HUMAN FLOURISHING
• Meaning: subjective experience of feeling that life fits into a larger context and has signifi-cance; it connotes a sense of comprehension and life as a whole makes sense.
Purpose: an overall sense of goals and direction in life.
However, they are strongly correlated. And they are both important!
Purpose may be more vulnerable to adversity than meaning.
Meaning positively correlates with Post-traumatic growth (a topic we’ll talk about later) and negatively correlates with post-traumatic deprecation (doing worse and struggling after trauma).
• Purpose did not correlate with these factors but it did positively correlate with positive affect, optimism and life satisfaction. It negatively correlated with negative affect, pessimism and depression.
What is Purpose?
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Purpose is: ”Stable and generalizable intention to accomplish something that is at once mean- ingful to the self and leads to productive engagement with some aspect of the world beyond the self.” (Damon, Menon & Bronk, 2003)
Purpose is: “An intentional and cognitive sense of life, or determination to accomplish some end (social contribution). Purpose is both directional and other focused.” (Keyes, 2011)
Purpose is: “Purpose is a central, self-organizing life-aim.” (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009) “Purpose is the active way you uniquely impact the world.”
INDIVIDUAL PURPOSEFUL PLAY CHALLENGE
Explore Your Play History To Find Answers To Your Purpose
In order to identify how you want to play now, we must tap back into how you played as a child
#1. List the ways you loved to play as a child & why you enjoyed playing that way Your Play Why You Enjoyed Playing In That Way
#2. Are there ways you played as a child that can be linked to what you enjoy doing now? If so, how?
Your Play As A Child (Ex. Playing Dress Up)
Your Play Now (Ex. Costumes/Cos Play)
How Are Your Past & Present Play Connected (Ex. Creating a persona with fabric & creativity)
#3. What do you most love to do, where you can do it for long stretches of time
without getting tired or bored?
#4. Based on your answers to #2 & #3, what are some ways you can play now that get you excited? How can you incorporate them into your every day life?
Action Item: Now try your answers to #4 for one month and see if you feel any difference
PURPOSEFUL PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS
Play Storming With Friends
#1. Ask your closest friends to meet to figure out how they can help you play more
• Tell them it is a play storm consulting session and you the client for the day • Make it an event, providing whatever is necessary to loosen everyone up so they can be relaxed and comfortable enough to come up with creative ideas for you (I.e. Food, beverages, etc.)
• Bring large post-its to write on and markers
• Be sure to pick a scribe that isn’t you
Rules for the Play Storm:
• Have a scribe jot down the ideas on post-its, preferably one question per post it • There are no wrong answers during the play storm, so whatever your friends share is posted
• You are NOT allowed to interrupt
• You are there to listen and ask questions • If your friends give you love and appreciation, you must try to receive it, even if it feels awkward listening to all those kind words in a single sitting
#2. Once everyone has gathered, is relaxed and comfortable, ask them to answer these questions of you:
• What are the attributes that you most appreciate about me? (I.e. Creative, giving, etc.) • What are the times when you have seen me most happy? • When you have you seen me most being myself? • When was the last time you saw me play?
• For your childhood friends, do you remember how most liked to play as a kid?
#3. After all these questions have been answered, circle the attributes and the ways you most like to play from the post-its. Then, based on the One Risk Away Motto and answer this question below.
One Risk Away Motto: You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it. - Benjamin Mee, We Bought A Zoo
What are the adventures you have always wanted to do, but you have been too scared to try?
(Ex. Getting lost abroad with just $10 in hand, diving with sharks, writing a novel, perform on stage, etc.)
#4. On a final post-it, write down all the ways you want to play now, rank them, and ask your friends how they can help you make your top choices a reality?
Be as specific as possible.
You want to travel to a specific destination in the next year.
• Together you figure out how to all go, pick dates that day, and book the trip
You only play with your kids, so your friends identify a Parent’s Night Out every month If the play brainstorm works, decide who you will do the next play storm for.
ACHIEVEMENT
How and Why does Visualization work? (From Flourishing Center CAPP)
Maybe it’s “Ordinary Magic”?
What is visualization doing?
Activating the placebo effect
Activating the attention bias
Regulates emotions
Moderates the physical effects of stress
Helps set goals and increase self-efficacy
Decreases the planning fallacy
Activating the placebo effect:
Prepares you for action and puts you in a state of readiness
Increases in confidence may activate the placebo effect
Visualizing an event or a situation happening puts that person in a state where they are ready for action. If before, you didn’t think it was possible for you to achieve this, and you start visualizing it happening your confidence increased. For example a student who wants to be a doctor can begin seeing herself in that roll, seeing herself as a doctor, working with her patients, seeing herself in med school, studying for the MCATs. The fact that she sees herself doing it, increases her confidence. Often times believing that she wants to go to medical school can begin visualizing herself as a doctor, seeing herself, doesn’t think she has what it takes, but if starts to visualize herself, you suddenly begin to see yourself as better able to do those things that you didn’t think you could do. You also send out nonverbal cues to the world around you about your changed state. By thinking about this happening I am getting myself psyched.
Activating the attention bias:
The tendency to focus on things that support your beliefs: Narrows and deepens awareness
Study: pro-life and pro-choice
Behavioral confirmation – do things to support
2 groups of people read the same article, one group was pro-choice
See either opportunities or threats to your personal position
Regulates Emotions:
Visualizing things helps control the emotions associated with it. For example someone who wants leave a job that they are miserable at. However, there’s a lot of fear and worry associated with starting that business they’ve always dreamt of. Visualizing the event happening stirs lots of emotions up, providing fertile soil for controlling and regulating those emotions. This is particu- larly powerful for people who are catastrophizers.
Induces Positive Emotions:
A study by Nelis et al (2012) compared the effects to positive affect of mental imagery versus verbal processing, i.e., creating images of the words in your mind versus speaking words and thinking about what they mean.
Mental imagery cultivated more positive affect.
“If results can be translated from the lab to the clinic then imaging positive situations may help people feel more positive than only discussing them verbally in therapy.”
Moderates the physical effects of stress:
Visualization creates physical and emotional arousal
Vision vs. Visual Imagery:
“The brain does not know the difference between what it sees and what it thinks about” 88% overlap in recalling information as observing the information (Krelman, Koch & Fried, 2000)
Visualization and the Brain:
Visualization happens in the cerebral cortex (language, thinking, and problem solving)
Visual images > optic cortex
Sounds > auditory cortex
Tactile > sensory cortex
Cerebral cortex > limbic system > endocrine system and the autonomic nervous system > bodily functions
Visualization and the Body
Increased heart rate
Blood pressure
Because of this, the body reacts to the images in the brain as though they are real threats, and real opportunities
Reactions in the body like increased heart rate & blood pressure
Increased heart rate
Blood pressure
Electrodermal activity
Human body is designed to act when this happens
Help Set Goals and Increase Self-Efficacy:
Approach vs. Avoidance Goals
Thinking about what you don’t want attracts it in!
Must frame goals in the positive.
“Pink Elephant”
Self-Efficacy
You can do it!
What a person believes they can do with their skills under certain conditions (Maddux, 2002)
Self-efficacy is different than self-esteem. It is not you can do “You were great out there” to the overweight 9 year old after she forgot the routine, tripped over her own feet, and smashed into one of the other girls on stage. It is what you believe you can do.
INDIVIDUAL PLAY CHALLENGE
Practice the Kylego Visualization Exercise, visualizing a year from now and describing it as if it already happened
Journal about it and see what comes up
PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS & LOVED ONES
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
VITALITY
Strong evidence shows more active persons have lower rates of:
All-cause mortality
Type 2 diabetes
Coronary heart
Metabolic syndrome
Stroke disease
High blood pressure
Breast cancer
Colon cancer
Depression
Strong evidence shows more active persons have lower rates of:
Higher level of cardiorespiratory & muscular fitness
Healthier body mass & composition
Enhanced bone health
Better sleep
Quality of life
Recommendations for Youth
1 hour (60 minutes) or more of daily physical activity that is at least moderate
Most of the 1 or more hours a day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
Do vigorous-intensity physical activity at least 3 days a week (include muscle-strengthen- ing & bone-strengthening)
Encourage participation in physical activities that are age appropriate, enjoyable, and offer variety for 30 to 60 minutes a day
Moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity 5 or more days of the week
At 2.5 hours per week of moderate to vigorous intensity activity, lower risk is consistently observed of:
All-cause mortality
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Hypertension
Type 2 diabetes
At 3-5 hours per week of moderate to vigorous intensity activity, lower risk is consistently observed of:
Significantly lower rates of colon cancer
Significantly lower rates of breast cancer
Prevention of unhealthy weight gain
Prevention of significant weight loss.
Some is better than none!
1hour/ week moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality and the incidence of coronary heart disease
Studies are much less consistent about nature and magnitude of benefits at this level
Inverse relation between the dose of activity and rate of disease
Nothing suggests a threshold below which there are no benefits
INDIVIDUAL PLAY CHALLENGE
For an entire day, log all the ways in which you were active and see how you feel at the end of the day in comparison to a standard day
PLAY CHALLENGE WITH FRIENDS
For any gathering you are having with friends for a week, choose an active gathering (I.e. walking, running, taking a class, playing catch, trampolining, etc.)
Were you able to connect with your friend more closely and in what ways?
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE PLAY CHALLENGE
Choose one ambitious physical activity that scares you a little to do that you will do this year (I.e. Half Marathon, Mud Run, Obstacle Course, Skiing a Black Diamond, etc.)
Pick an activity where you may need to build yourself up or train for it
After completing this play challenge, do you see a different in what you now are open to trying
List of Via Character Strengths
From: http://www.viacharacter.org/www/Character-Strengths
Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence
You notice and enjoy beauty in many places (nature, art, music, etc.).
You notice and enjoy watching people who are talented or very skilled at what they do.
Integrity
You speak the truth.
You allow others to see the “real you”.
You are true to yourself.
You take responsibility for what you do and say.
Bravery
You do not avoid challenges or difficult situations.
You speak up for what you think is right, even if others disagree with you.
Creativity
You think of new and original ways of doing things.
Curiosity
You are interested in many things.
You like to explore and discover new things.
Fairness
You give everyone a fair chance.
You treat others in a fair and just way.
Forgiveness/Mercy
You forgive those who have done wrong.
You give people a second chance.
You do not seek revenge against those who have wronged you.
Gratitude
You notice and appreciate the good things that happen.
You take the time to express thanks to those you who do nice things for you.
Hope
You expect good things to happen in the future. You work to make good things happen.
Humor
You like to laugh and make jokes.
You like to bring a smile to people’s faces. You see humour in many situations.
Kindness
You enjoy doing favours and helping others. You enjoy taking care of other people.
Leadership
You like to work with others and help them to get things done. You like to organize group activities and see that they happen.
Love
You like being close to other people. You like to give love to others.
You like receiving love from others.
Love of Learning
You enjoy learning new information. You enjoy learning how to do things.
Modestly/Humility
You do not like to draw attention to yourself.
You let your accomplishments speak for themselves (rather than pointing them out). You do not view yourself as better than others.
Open Mindedness
You like to think things through before making a decision.
You look at all “sides” of a situation.
You are able to change your mind (if there is a good reason to do so). You listen to other people’s ideas.
Perspective
You are able to give other people good advice. You are able to see the “big picture”.
Persistence
You finish what you start.
You find ways to overcome obstacles. You enjoy completing tasks.
Prudence
You are careful in making decisions.
You avoid taking unnecessary risks.
You avoid doing or saying things that you later regret.
Spirituality
You believe that you are part of a larger plan or purpose.
You believe that your life has meaning/purpose.
Your beliefs about life’s meaning/purpose give you comfort and help to guide your actions.
Self-Control
You avoid “overdoing” things (losing your temper, eating too much, etc.).
You are able to keep things balanced in your life.
Social Intelligence
You know what to do to get along with different groups of people.
You know what makes other people “tick”; you know why they do what they do. You are aware of other people’s thoughts and feelings.
Teamwork
You work well as a member of a group or team.
You always do your share of the work in a team or group. You are loyal to the groups or teams to which you belong.
Zest
You do what you do with energy and excitement. You view life as an adventure.
Take The VIA Character Strengths Survey
Once you identify what your VIA Character Strengths are, determine if you'd like to focus more on your strengths or on areas of improvement.
Choose a play challenges for a character strength you want to focus on. There is currently on one play challenge per character strength.
More nuanced play challenges will be added in the future for this section.
1) Creativity
If you are trying to tackle a problem, instead of talking it out or making a pro and con list, draw the solution. Sketch out the solution.
Group Setting
If you want to spark creativity, choose a challenge your working with and come up with 7 different solutions to the problem from the absurd to the mundane
Create something by hand that you will give as a gift to someone. You can choose the medium.
Make it in finite amount of time and don’t judge yourself throughout it.
2) Curiosity
Next time you are outside at a restaurant or in a public setting, put away your phone when you get bored and instead, take some time to simply observe what is happening around you.
Take 5 minutes to notice the surroundings, the people, and see how that makes you feel.
Go a day simply by asking question and try to avoid making statement.
Try to learn as much about people in a given day and measure it against your regular day.
3) Judgment (critical thinking)
Gather your friends together and have a viewing party of a show that may disagree with you.
The goal will be to find where there is common ground.
Go one step further and invite people of different political persuasions together and see if you can find more in common with each other than what separates you.
Write down all the judgments you have on people, including yourself in a given day.
Watch if those critiques change as you noticed more of them.
4) Love of learning
Choose to learn one new skill in 30 days and see how far it takes you
If you have a love of a specific subject, ask your friends who they know is an expert in that field and meet with that person.
Learn as much as you can from them in one setting and take their suggestions on how to learn more.
5) Perspective (wisdom)
Pick a hero of yours and for that day, make decisions the way you think they would
Step into someone else’s shoes.
Find a friend or a colleague who is willing to have you shadow them for a certain amount of hours and they explain what they experience and see in a given day.
6) Bravery (courage)
Take on Mel Robbins 5 Second Rule and when you are scared to do something that you also really want to do (I.e. Hop on a dance floor, get on stage, speak to someone that you are intimidated by), countdown from 5 seconds and get up and do it
Make a list of your biggest the goals that most excite and scare you.
Share them with a friend and pick one that you’d like to work on.
7) Perseverance
Pick a challenge that you have failed at in the past and attempt it again and fail.
Continue to try and fail and just notice how many times you are willing to try again and again.
List all of the times that you have persevered, find the pattern, and choose a project that you want to take on that is similar to what you’ve accomplished in the past.
8) Honesty
Write down thoughts about people that you have been wanting to say, but have been holding back from saying for a really long time.
Pick two people to share those thoughts with.
Share with a friend something about yourself that barely anyone knows that you might have some embarrassment around.
See how it feels when you are able to let this go.
9) Zest
One Risk Away
Do something ridiculous that both excites you and makes you a little nervous. 20 seconds of insane courage
Play With What You Love
Gather your closest friends together or just hop on a call with one of them and ask them:
When have you seen me most happy?
When was the last time you saw me play?
From those answers, figure out with them, how you can cultivate similar adventures now
Find Your Zesty Tribe
Surround yourself with people that are also pursuing their zest
Attend classes, retreats, conferences, gatherings that are of people that have similar core values and see where these adventures take you
Make Mundane Tasks Zesty
Take a boring task and see if you can bring some fun to it. Examples:
Washing Dishes - See how many dishes you can wash well with as little water as possible
Walking - On a regular walk you do, see if you can observe anything different about this adventure. See if you can discover something new
Social Interaction - Try to see if you can find one interesting fact about the person you are talking to or if that seems too challenging, try to incorporate movie lines into conversation
Work Email - In a 5 minute challenge, see how many emails you can archive that don’t need your response so your inbox seems less daunting
10) Love
Call or text someone that you really appreciate and love that you have told in a while and see how that feels.
Write a letter of appreciation to yourself and what you like about yourself.
If you want, give the letter to a friend to mail back to you within 3 - 6 months, when you really need to read it.
Write a letter of appreciation to someone you care about.
See how it feels to simply write the letter.
11) Kindness
Write down all the kind thoughts you have about yourself in a given day.
If you don’t have any, start giving yourself some and see how your day changes
Choose to do a number of kind things in a given day (pay parking meters, open doors, give a compliment),
Count the number of things, and measure how you feel at the end of the day
12) Social intelligence:
Challenge yourself to have conversations with 3 - 5 new people in a given day
Spark a conversation with a stranger, speak to a colleague or a friend that you have not connected with in quite some time, reach out to someone who typically intimidates you when you speak to them and see if you can vibrant, engaging conversation
During the day, find someone who really seems like they need a connection and reach out
Observe what effect it has on you and the individual you connected with
For a conversation that you have been avoiding, choose to have a Crucial Conversation with a person, adopting some of the techniques from the Crucial Conversation Method, popularized by the book, Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High
13) Teamwork
Take the time to thank a team for all their hard work on a recent project.
If you could give them a bigger shout out to their superior, even better.
If you have a team, have them go around and express one thing that they appreciate about the team to start your next meeting.
14) Fairness
Look for inequity in your office space and figure out with your staff how to address it
Take some time to look at who is being neglected or excluded either in an office setting or with your friends and determine how you can make it right
15) Leadership
Give one of your team members an opportunity to step up and take on a leadership role in a project that you usually lead
Choose to take the lead on a project that is really important to you and ask others to follow
16) Forgiveness
Make a list of people that you have a grudge against and why.
Choose 2 people on the list that you are willing to forgive and reach out to them.
If you cannot get in touch with them anymore of they have passed away, still write a letter forgiving them.
Pick something that you have been really feeling guilty about and give yourself permission to forgive yourself.
If you need to, write a letter that communicates this.
17) Humility
For meetings for an entire day, choose to spend more time listening and talking
Do this with a majority of your interactions for a given day and notice how that feels differently
Gather a few people that you really trust and ask for honest feedback in what ways you can improve either as a friend or coworker
18) Prudence
Before you make a decision that is typically very easy, take one full minute to think about it before you take action
Write down your plans for each hour of the remainder of the day, no matter how trivial
19) Self-regulation
The next time you feel irritated or nervous today, pause and breathe with the experience for a count of 10 breathes.
Monitor all the food and drinks you put in your body.
Write it down on a tracking sheet.
20) Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence
Think of someone that you admire very much and appreciate with awe all the aspects of that individual that makes them so special
If you know that person directly, reach out to them and share how much you appreciate them
Think about the last time you really appreciated your environment (I.e. On the beach, in the forest, on a busy street) and go back to that area and sit silently for 30 minutes simply connecting with that space
21) Gratitude
At the start of your day, text, call, or email 2 people (I.e. friend, family member, colleague, client, etc.) per day for a week, expressing why you grateful to have them in your life
Observe whether you see any difference in how your week is because of this action
22) Hope
Think about the last time you were hopeful and something amazing came from it
Write down and share what your hopes are for the future for yourself with multiple friends
Observe how you feel about the future after sharing your hopes and dreams with others
Pick a challenge that you are currently struggling with and identify realisitic, positive thoughts around this challenge that give you hope
23) Humor
Try to incorporate your favorite movie lines into your next conversation with someone
Find an area where many people are taking themselves way too seriously and choose to do the opposite
Spend time identifying the absurd and celebrating it
24) Spirituality
If you are spiritual, write down what it is that you appreciate about your faith and practice, and how it provides you meaning and purpose
If you attend a Spiritual Service or gathering, take the lesson or message you heard and apply it through action (not simply words) for 24 hours to see what effect it has
Example: If the message is "Love Thy Neighbor" then identify how you would actually do this (I.e. Check in and help out a neighbor that you rarely connect with)
Attend a spiritual service or gathering of a faith that is not of your own and see what you can appreciate about it