22: Never Too Old for Fun: Why Play Matters At Every Age!

Who says fun is just for kids? In this episode of Group X Appeal, Kimberly and Terry dive into the power of play and why it’s essential for your mental health, creativity, and overall well-being—no matter your age!

Join the fun as they explore how play helps relieve stress, spark joy, and strengthen connections with others. From laughter and spontaneity to breaking free from guilt and the “adulting” mindset, they’ll uncover why so many grown-ups struggle to prioritize fun—and how to change that!

Get ready for 4 tips that will help you rediscover the joy of making fun a daily priority. Because life is meant to be enjoyed!

🎉 What You’ll Learn:
✔️ How play boosts mental and emotional well-being
✔️ The benefits of fun and spontaneity
✔️ Easy ways to add more play into your daily routine

🌟 Join the fun—tune in now!

#NeverTooOldForFun #PowerOfPlay #StressRelief #LiveJoyfully #MindsetMatters

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Questions or topic ideas? Email us @ groupxappeal@gmail.com

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Stay Connected with Kimberly:
- @kimberlyspreenglick on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
- email: kimberly@theinspiredlifeuniversity.com
- website: www.theinspiredlifeuniversity.com

Stay Connected with Terry:
- @terryshorter on Instagram & Facebook
- email: terry@rippedplanet.com
- website: www.rippedplanet.com

Transcript

When was the last time you laughed so hard your stomach hurt or played a game just for the joy of it? If you're struggling to remember, this episode is for you. Yes, let's discover why fun and play aren't just for kids. They're essential for a healthier, happier you. And as Dr. Seuss once said, having fun is fun, but you have to know how.

Kimberly/terry (00:59)
Welcome to Group X Appeal, Terry Shorter here. And Kimberly Spreen-Glick We are so excited because this is probably one of, I don't know, my favorite topics. Yes, please. So today we're talking about reclaiming fun and Oh my gosh, I'm doing the finger Yes, you are. And I'm like pounding the table. So reclaiming fun and play, they matter at any age. And so, you know, there's a very famous quote, one of both of our favorite.

quotes by George Bernard Shaw. He says, don't stop playing because we grow old. We get old because we stop playing. So true. Isn't it true? It's so true. And by I will not get old. No, no, I'm going to keep playing. Going to keep playing. So and we're doing that here with Group X Appeal when we have the opportunity to be here chatting with you, listening to what you love hearing about your questions, your comments, and all that good stuff. That is play for us. It's play time.

do you to know how much this is play during it during the intro? There's a part where I say, do you remember the last time you laughed so hard your stomach hurt? Well, that was about 10 minutes ago for me. Thanks to Mr. Terry shorter here. So it's a beautiful thing. Absolutely. And so we've got four key tips today that, we'll, you know, just kind of share the importance and the benefits of having fun, of being playful. So you feel youthful. It truly is the fountain of youth. And then we're going to give you a takeaway at the end. So you're not.

You're gonna wanna miss that at all. So I'm gonna kick it off. Why fun and play, why it matters. Do it. Right? So why fun and play matters. First of all, and it's probably the biggest one, especially nowadays, the big topic nowadays is mental health, right? Mental health and physical health, of course. There's big benefits of that. First of all, stress relief, right? Definitely. So when you play, what are some of your forms of playfulness? my goodness.

I love playing in so many different ways. I love playing games. I love being playful with banter, time with friends, family. When we teach, I'm a little playful when I teach. Just geez, a lot playful. So lots of different ways. How about you? Same thing. think the studio, the group X appeal, or the group exercise environment, studio, being in that studio, it is truly a playground. It's a playground. so it gives us an opportunity to be ourselves.

to tap into that childlike spirit that we all should be able to tap into. so through physical movement, activity, that is obviously some of the big benefits of play. But also creativity, it helps foster creativity when we're playful, when we're having fun, enjoying ourselves. we tap into that side of the brain, the right side of the brain. For sure. so that's, think, some of the

the most important health benefits. Any other health benefits that you can think of that you experience? You know, I think when that, you know, we, we just shared some of the ways we like to play and in those scenarios, it's also about connection. And so when you are more playful and you make fun and play matter in your life, and you also make it matter in your relationships, then you able to, you're able to form deeper connections with people that aren't, that are focused on the positive. Sure. Sure.

And you know, there's tons of out there that show when you are in a playful state, when you're in a state of joy, when you're enjoying the process or whatever activity you're engaged in, you're more receptive to learn as well. And it actually is ingrained deeper in your psyche and your emotions as well. so we just need to do more of it.

You know, that's a funny thing. You know, this comes up whenever I've talked about the idea of flow, because I think a lot of these fun and play activities can also bring us into what we call the flow state, which we've talked about in a previous episode. But I think that it's not that we don't know what it is. It's not that we've never experienced fun and play. It's just that it becomes more the exception than the norm. And so I think what our encouragement for you is today is to make it more of the norm in your life.

And so I think that's a great segue into the second tip or the second benefit of being playful, which is rediscovering joy, right? Yeah, it's all about rediscovering joy within your life. Being able to tap into playful activities, whether it's, know, I mentioned games earlier, I'm a big card player. So if you ever see me, you know, at a conference or in the hallway or, know, at a park or whatever, and you've got a deck of cards on you, then I'm your girl. Let's, let's go for it. What's your favorite game? Gosh, I have a lot. Go fish.

No, not go fish, silly. So there's one, it's called 31, that one's really fun. I love a game called Setback, which is similar to Spades, but the trump changes. I love Gin. There's one I play called Skip Bo, that's like its own special deck. I will take you down in Uno any day. In Uno? I will, I will.

I truly will. And I won't feel bad about it. I believe it. love the confidence. I sound so competitive and yet I truly don't care. wins. Like winning is the last thing I'm worried about because I'm in it for the play. I'm for the play because when I'm in that playful spirit, I am kind of tapping into something that sparks joy. whenever you can tap into something that sparks joy in your heart and soul, I mean, why would we not want to do more of that? Right.

And then we also think about hobbies, different hobbies. What are some hobbies that would help you tap into joy? Well, we've talked about hiking, for example, outdoors. Hiking is one of those activities where I just feel like myself. feel genuine. I feel relaxed. Do you feel joy? feel connected. Yeah, I feel connected to the earth. I feel joy for sure.

So we need a little bit more rain here and then we've got to go do Black Star Canyon again. Black Star Canyon is a hike that Terry introduced me to last spring. It is my favorite hike that I've done in Southern California. That's a lot. It's so fun because you need your hands. It is so much more playful for me when we have to also use our hands with like a little bit of bouldering and then if there can be a waterfall at the end, like, okay. Right. That's so beautiful. I was hoping you'd clarify using your hands with that.

Bouldering, that's what we use our hands for. Yes, he encouraged me to use my hands and so I did. But you know what he did to me on that hike? I think it's on Instagram. Yeah, so it's for the world to see. He went ahead and hid behind like a turn. Big old rock. Yeah, big old rock with a stick, okay? And then as I was coming around the corner of that big old rock, he went tsss as if it were a snake and I probably jumped.

probably three feet in the air and turn 14 different shades. And then what did we do for the next like minute straight? We laughed. We laughed. was hilarious. So speaking of laughing, speaking of laughing, that's, that's tip number three, right? Or benefit number three, the importance of humor and spontaneity in daily life. You know, if it means scaring your friend when they come around the corner,

With the sound of a snake and a stick that resembles a snake Do want to know the funniest thing about that happening is? Is when I posted it or you post there one of us posted I had about six people reach out to me like yeah, he does that or yeah, you've been you've been indoctrinated now or whatever So yeah, I think you have to you have to the spontaneity I love spontaneity

unscripted, just going for it, just living, right? Living. And speaking of one of our latest experiences, our adventures that Kimberly put together, she booked a comedy night. We went down to San Diego, San Diego area to see one of our favorite comedians, Angela Johnson. And I'm so thankful that you did Funner, California, actually. the name of the place. of fun and play. It's called Funner.

We went on a little road trip to funner California. F U N N E R. Look it up. And was it fun? It was so fun. Talk about laughing until my stomach hurt. My cheeks hurt for three days. my gosh. Yeah, it was, it was a ton of fun. thanks so much again for booking that, putting together. you know, we had great conversation down the freeway, getting to the destination. When we arrived in funner, we had already started having fun before the show even started.

We brought more fun to fun. We made funner. Funner. We made it even the funniest. It's ever been when we were there. So, yeah. So those kinds of things, humor is everything. You know, I have a friend of mine, one of my, mentors, dear friend named Joseph McClendon, the third, his, mother was diagnosed with cancer and, you know, she's in the fourth stage and the doctors told her that she only had.

weeks to live and Joseph had a decision to make. thought, okay, I can either believe what the doctors told her and go along with that, you know, that diagnosis or I can help in a different way. And the, the method that he decided to take was he brought comedy tapes like VHS types when they were, you know, a thing, into her room to, make her laugh and, you know, spark joy and, just get her to kind of tap into that inner child and

As a result of doing that on a daily basis, he'd bring different comedians in that she can watch. She ended up living for another couple of years. he kept her in really good spirits. He kept her laughing. He kept her in a place where she wasn't focused on the pain. She wasn't focused on the...

you know, the diagnosis that the doctors gave her, she focused on something else that was more positive. And so they laughter is the best medicine. It truly is. I agree. Truly is. So make sure to laugh. Well, he just made it sound like a very aggressive order. to do it whether you like it or not. Which knowing the kind of person he actually is, that's hilarious.

I'm laughing just with him saying it like that. But think having a sense of humor, laughing is like air to me. And having a sense of You're so good at it. You are great at it. But having a sense of humor, I think about the people I most enjoy being around. mean, think about the people you enjoy being around.

you'll often find they're the people that bring a sense of lightness to life. And they have a kind of a sense of humor with things. They don't take everything so seriously. They don't, you know, let things knock them down. Or if they do get knocked down, they get up quickly because they can find the lightness. And I think a sense of humor is so, powerful. It is. And the opposite of those are the people that you don't like hanging around. They are the opposite of that. And you try to avoid them at all costs. Trying to minimize that time. Yeah, minimize. Yes. We do get to choose who we give our time and energy to. We do.

So here's the thing though, when it comes to fun and play, I think there's a barrier that comes up sometimes. adults, Yeah, as adults. Yeah. Kids definitely, they have no problem with this whatsoever. But I think as adults, sometimes we can tend to feel guilty. We can feel kind of self-conscious about having fun because when we go to do something that's fun, the thoughts immediately go to, well, should be, you know, I should be getting something done for work or I should be getting something done around the house.

And like the, that's not a good feeling. The should shackles. shackles. Should shackles. You end up shooting all over yourself. You don't want that. Exactly. So you gotta, you gotta break free from the should shackles because what we know to be true is when you can find time for fun, for play, for flow in even the busiest of schedules, it actually is going to fill your cup in a way that allows you to

have more bandwidth and more potential to go then do the good things that you want to do for your work, for your family, things around the house, whatever you want to build from IKEA. Like whatever, whatever's on your to-do list that needs to be a priority, let it be a priority, but that doesn't mean fun and play. Don't become a priority any longer. Like don't, don't stick them on a back burner, bring them to the forefront because I honestly think as much as we've talked about the importance of self care, fun and play is a core essential of self care.

Care should be non-negotiable non-negotiable. know for me it is absolutely a non-negotiable It's probably one of the healthiest boundaries. I have is the insistence on fun flow play Yeah, yeah, does make you more productive. It also is inspiring to inspires you to do to do more I like when you said bandwidth it gives you create greater bandwidth a great example and we kind of discussed this off off the show, but I experienced that guilt factor

with my schedule, Kimberly, when she invited me to see Angela Johnson down in San Diego, immediately the adult mind's going, the drive, it's an hour, little over an hour drive down to San Diego. It doesn't start till eight. The show's not gonna be done until 10, then another hour and a half drive back. I'm not gonna get done till 11.30. I get to teach at 5.45 a.m. the next morning. So I went through this entire adult process, right, in my mind.

Everything was, oh, oh, oh, at every turn. But then I thought, based on one of the things that she shared with me that I have adopted now, it's within my practice, I thought, wait a second, I can do this. I can still show up to this event. I know I'm going to be inspired. I'm going to be so glad that I went rather than saying I wish I would have, which is not a good feeling. Never. And I'm going to teach my class in the morning. And what's the solution? How can I make this happen? And I thought, power.

nap in the afternoon. doesn't have to be forever. 30 minute power nap. That's all I needed and I was good to go. I am golden after a 30 minute power nap. And I was too. It's awesome. So yeah, it's finding solutions. It's finding ways. It's making, like Kimberly said, making play, making fun, making laughter a non-negotiable. And you will show up, I think, a lot more present. You'll show up just as a better version of yourself.

when you can make that part of your priority? Absolutely so. Truer words have never been spoken. Right. So what's the takeaway and what's the challenge we want to give our lovely listeners? So here's our challenge for you. This is homework, but we're not going to call it homework. We're going to call it home fun. Ooh, like it. One playful activity this week. Just one playful activity. Play a game with a friend, with a family member.

Go do something fun that makes you laugh or even giggle. Run around a park with a kite or blow bubbles, whatever it is, one playful activity. And then would you please share with us, what did you do and how did it make you feel? That's what we want to hear. So whether it's through the comments on YouTube or let us know on Instagram, but we want to know what's the playful activity that you did this week and how did it make you feel? I can't wait to hear.

I love it. love it. And if you feel like you are too old for that, for this home fun, are not. What did, what did Walt Disney say? made me push, push, push, push. Walt Disney actually said growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional. So we're making it an option. That's your assignment for the week this week and

It doesn't mean we don't respect our responsibilities. We're not talking about Peter panning your life. Not the entire life. Just Peter pan some moments. Just have some Peter pan moments that I promise they will increase your bandwidth. You'll be glad you did. You gotta let us know how it goes. For sure. So that is it for today. We are so, so excited. So thankful by the way, for tuning in, for tapping in here on group X appeal with myself and Ms. Kimberly spring Glick. Yes, indeed. Anything else they need to do?

gosh, wherever you are tuning in, just keep connecting with us. If you're on one of the pad cost. Who teached you how to spoke? I didn't know. But if you're on one of the podcast platforms, download, follow us there. If you're on YouTube, definitely check it out. Leave a comment for us. Let us know your home fun, the activity that you're doing and how it made you feel. Connect with us on social media.

keep the conversation going because we are here to support you and living your absolute best life. And we only know and get the fulfillment of having done that when we get to hear from you. Right? So it's a relationship. is. And speaking of relationships, you want to make sure you tap into the next episode. have relationship expert and therapist Jonathan, who's going to be joining us on that episode.

Invite everybody you can with this on this one because this is during heart month during Valentine's week that you're going to be able to listen to and meet Jonathan and even get connected with him. we'll tell you how on the episode. So we won't tell you how now, but no. Yeah. So good. You do not want to miss that one. He is. So that is it for today. Thanks again for tuning in. Yes. I'm Terry shorter. I'm Kimberly Spreen Glick and we encourage you as always to make it a great day and why, because it's a great day to have. Take care. Have fun.