There have been times in my life where I felt spent; where I felt I had given my last bit of energy to others and there is nothing left for me. Or that I although I was doing what I love, I was not feeling fueled by it. I began to resent my work and myself. Ay yi yi!!!

Been there?

I absolutely didn’t want to feel like that. I justified by telling myself I was growing my business so it’s totally ok to work my tail off, and put playtime on the backburner

It was during this time I also cut back on seeing my girlfriends, I stopped going out, and I was always TOO BUSY.

I was no fun sister, life had become too serious, and I’d had enough.

Here’s the thing – your soul needs playtime. You are meant to have fun in your life!! You are so meant to take time to fill up your personal well of happiness and nourish your sparkling essence so you are a better lover, mother, friend or entrepreneur.

Research shows when you are playing, laughing, having fun it puts a stop to the constant thoroughfare of thoughts about the past and future. You become fully present.

Why is this important for you?

Click here to discover what Harvard researchers say about the connection between playtime, being present and relationships

Daniel Gilbert and Matthew Killingsworth of Harvard University did a study and discovered adults spend only about 50% of their time in the present moment. The other half is spent wandering and their research found that a wandering mind is an unhappy mind exhausting itself through negative emotions. Yikes!

They also say that play allows us to be in the present moment.

How fabulous is that, because think about this – those deeply connected relationships you crave… they require you to be totally present! Play is the perfect solution!!

So now that it’s springtime, and in honor of that I’m going to write about topics like rejuvenation, revitalization and getting energized. And, you guessed it girl, my #1 HUGE step towards that is adding laughter and fun frolics to your life.

So take a moment, think back to when you were a kid, and what you loved to do. I loved being outdoors and being active and playing with my friends. One of my besties loved making (and I mean making, from scratch!) clothes for her dolls.

What did you love to do? What could you do right now in the sense of play that would lite you up?

One of my Sparkle clients had a dinner party recently and she had the most brilliant way to break the ice with her guests. At each place setting she put a bottle of bubbles, the kind with the dipstick that you blow on… remember those? Her guests saw this and immediately began to giggle, like seriously? Bubbles? No one did anything, until one of the guests opened hers up, and blew bubbles everywhere.

Well watch out sister Sue, battle of the bubbles was ON!

This game was a definite crowd pleaser and a terrific icebreaker – allowing the guests to instantly drop any insecurities or shyness they may have arrived with. And it totally set the tone for the rest of the evening. They had a blast!

Here’s the thing about having fun; when you spend all your time buttoned up, not doing anything for yourself at all, your well of happiness and even your well of ability and creativity can run dry. You do not service your clients in the same way as when you are feeling whole and happy, and you really close yourself off to what we want most in life, a deep connection with ourselves and others.

When you give yourself permission to have some fun, it fills your inner Diamond cup up, you begin to sparkle and you approach life, work and your relationships with less stress and resentment.

The best part of playtime is this – it doesn’t take much effort, almost none!

So get out there and play – better yet grab a girlfriend and play together.