Welcome to the Elevated Edit Podcast.

I'm your host, Blakely Ramsey, and the goal of this podcast is to discuss all things personal development, wellness, and the art of editing your life in an elevated way.

From mastering morning routines to mastering your mindset, we're going to sift through the noise and empower you to take elevated action.

Make sure you catch the show notes.

For all the details.

Enjoy the show.

Hello and welcome back to the Elevated Edit podcast.

If you are listening on the day that this episode airs, Happy New Year.

I have a feeling that 2025 is going to be a fantastic year.

And according to my social media feed, at least everyone else seems to feel the same way.

Everyone seems in a very positive mood.

Everyone's just kind of getting along right now, which is really nice, but might just be because I'm not on Facebook.

So maybe I'm living in a fantasy world over here.

But today we're going to talk about something that is not often talked about when you are talking about productivity or business or hitting goals or anything like that.

And that's why I think it's so important to talk about today on the first day of the year where so many people do have really big goals that they have set for themselves for the year.

A lot of the messaging that we get in the media and on social media and through marketing is, you know, let this be your best year.

Work super hard, set these big goals, all the things.

But what we're going to talk about today is something that I have been trying to implement into my life a little bit more, and it's been working.

And it.

I definitely didn't expect it to work, but that is incorporating more play and more joy into my everyday.

And for the longest time, the messaging that I heard at least was that it is okay to have fun and it's okay to play, but you have to do it after you finish working.

You have to work really hard, and then you can have fun and then you can play.

And I never once thought that I could incorporate the two.

And it wasn't until I started, you know, joining different masterminds and getting in different groups of different women.

And it would be the middle of the day and they would be, you know, doing these really big things and crushing these really big goals.

And then I would look at them and in the middle of the day, they would be like, in the pool, like playing volleyball or something random, you know, and they would get back to work, but they would have no problem stopping in the middle of the day and having, you know, an hour of fun.

And so that's what I want to talk about today, is incorporating more joy and just opening up this conversation of play and fun.

Because I do feel like it's something that a lot of us feel a lot of guilt around.

I know that I felt a lot of guilt around this when I first started incorporating it about a year ago.

It made me feel guilty that I wasn't being productive.

I felt like there were way more responsibilities and way more things that I needed to be taken care of.

But for me, one thing I realized is that if I allowed myself to stop in the day and take a real break and do something that I really enjoyed, like dancing or drawing or calligraphy, I'm gonna keep at this calligraphy.

It's something I've really been enjoying lately.

I'm so terrible at it.

Like, I have one of those workbooks you know, kids have that you outline the dotted letters and I'm not getting any better.

But it's something that I'm just really enjoying doing.

And I find that when I stop and allow myself to have real fun and real joy, when I do get back to my problem or the situation or whatever I'm working on, the problem has usually either resolved itself or an answer has come to me.

And it wasn't an answer that I had to work for and that I had to push for.

An answer just came to me because I was allowing myself to be present.

I was allowing myself to live in the moment.

I wasn't living in the past and worrying about it.

I wasn't worrying about the future and all the things that could happen.

I was just being joyful, being playful in the present moment.

And for me, I used to, when I would take a break from work, I would pick up my phone and I would start scrolling Facebook or I would pick up my phone and I would start scrolling TikTok.

And I would tell myself, okay, well, I took a break.

I took a 15 minute break.

But really all I did was stress out my eyes, stress out my brain, probably go down a rabbit hole that was either none of my business or that was made up.

And I wouldn't feel refreshed after doing it versus something that is actually joyful and actually genuine play.

It lights me back up, it makes me more creative, it fires up my problem solving skills, and it just allows me to be a better person.

So one thing I want you to ask yourself is, when was the last time that you truly let loose and had fun, not fun for someone else and not doing something just to be productive, but doing something just for you.

And if you're like I was a couple of years ago, that that question probably makes you a little uncomfortable.

It's made me super uncomfortable.

You know, if somebody had asked me what I did for fun, I would say, well, I go to the beach.

And they'd say, okay, well, you do that once, maybe twice a year.

Like, what do you do when you're every day to have fun?

And I wouldn't have an answer because I didn't do anything fun because I thought that was unproductive.

I had big goals and big dreams, and so in order to accomplish those, I needed to be serious and be working 24 7.

And I've just found that that's not true.

And so today we're diving into why play isn't just for kids and why bringing it back into your life can unlock creativity, reduce stress, and build joy.

Play for adults is so important because for us, and just like with children, it can fuel creativity, it can reduce stress, and it can help us connect more deeply, not only with ourselves, but with others as well.

And this isn't just some woo thing that I made up because I'm in a good mood.

This is.

There's scientific research and there's a lot of studies that have been done on this, and these studies are showing that play boosts mental clarity and problem solving.

And I've already mentioned this, but for me, when I was doing deep work a couple of years ago, I would be working on a problem, trying to find a solution, banging my head against the wall.

I might take a break, but I would take a break and scroll on social media or I would turn on a TV and I would not actually give myself joy and not actually give myself a break and not actually spark any creativity.

I would just, you know, get some quick dopamine hits and then come back to the same problem.

But what I figured out is when I step away from a problem, when I release control, the problem usually solves itself.

Either someone else comes in with an answer, a way better answer than I would have had, or the problem just goes away.

It's a, oh, hey, never mind, I found it.

Or oh, hey, nevermind, we figured it out, or hey, we finally heard back from them and everything's good.

And used to, I would have just sat there and overthought the situation and stressed about it, stressed everybody else out, and then the situation would just not have been versus now if I am like at my breaking point with an issue and I step away and I Genuinely, have fun.

Nine times out of ten, when I come back, the problem is already resolved, it's already fixed, or it went away, or the answer comes to me when I'm having fun, when I'm not thinking about the problem, when I'm living fully in the present moment, I'm like, oh, wait, you know, it would actually be a really good idea.

X, Y and Z.

And then I'll jot it down really quick, finish what I'm doing, and then come back and everybody thinks, oh, she came up with this great, wonderful idea.

And I'm like, well, actually, I didn't come up with it.

I was coloring and it just came to me.

And that is how you can unlock those creative pockets in your brain that are probably turned off right now, because we feel like we have to be on all the time, and we don't let ourselves stop and have fun.

Stop and have a random dance party in the middle of the day.

Stop and listen to a fun and crazy song that we really enjoy.

Practice calligraphy, practice drawing, practice painting or singing.

Whatever it is that brings you joy and feels like play to you.

Try to incorporate that into your day, even if it's just a little bit.

And we are often told in this day that play needs to be separate or that play is for children.

And as adults, like, we have too many responsibilities.

We've got too many things to do.

We can't play.

But it's really important.

And so if you're struggling with what do I even like to do?

What is even fun for me?

I want you to think back to when you were a kid and what made you lose track of time.

For me, y'all are gonna laugh at this, especially if you know me in real life.

I used to love going in the woods and picking up bugs.

And I would put them.

I had this little mesh nest bug thing, and I would bring them back to the house, and I had all these bug books, and I would research the bugs, and then I'd let them back out into the wild.

And I'm not going to bring that hobby back.

But other things that I really enjoy doing were just reading really fun travel books.

So I've started doing that again.

I used to love drawing, and so, like I said, the calligraphy has come back.

I've never been good at drawing, but it's always something I've really enjoyed.

So I've enjoyed doing that just for fun.

It's not something that I'm going to show other people.

It's not something I'm ever Going to make money off of it is genuinely something just for me.

And bringing those back into my day, just even in little pockets, if you're so busy that you are, like, there's no way that I can do this.

Trust me, I get it.

But we all owe ourselves at least 10 minutes a day to do something that makes us smile, to do something that brings us genuine joy, whatever that is.

10 minutes we can all carve out 10 minutes somewhere to do something that just makes us feel really freaking good.

And look, I get it.

There are a lot of challenges in the way to incorporating play and incorporating fun because we do have a lot of responsibilities.

And on top of that, we have the fear of judgment.

Like, what are other people going to think if all of a sudden I have to like, stop and do a dance move in the middle of something stressful?

Or what if somebody calls me and I tell them, oh, sorry, I was reading a book in my hammock at 5:30 in the afternoon, like, what are people going to think about me?

And then there's also the guilt about being unproductive.

In our society, we are told, like, there's a time for work and a time for play and you can have fun at work, but you shouldn't necessarily play.

And there's a lot of guilt that comes around all of that.

But here's the truth.

Play is not a waste of time.

It is an investment into your happiness and your creativity.

Because if you remove yourself from situations and give yourself a minute to be creative and playful and childlike, you will come back with, like I said, better problem solving skills, more clarity, and probably some really fun, really creative ideas.

And when we embrace play, we're actually giving ourselves permission to show up better in all areas of our lives.

We show up in rooms better, in social situations.

We show up in business situations better.

We show it better for our clients, for our kids, for our husband, for the rest of our family.

We just show up better in all areas of our life if we give ourselves at least a little something that really lights us up.

So if this is something that is so far connected, so far, that is so far away from where your current life is, y'all know what I meant.

Y'all know where I was going, but I couldn't remember if it needed to, if I needed to say so far connected or so far disconnected, if you are so disconnected from play, anyways, you all know what I mean.

Then per usual, I have some action steps for you to take.

Y'all know I'm all about Action steps.

I'm never gonna just tell you something and then say, good freaking luck.

There's some podcasts that I listen to and right before they get to the good stuff, they stop and I'm like, okay, but can you tell me how to do it?

Because what you.

I really liked what you said and I really wanted to do it.

And then there was nothing.

So step number one, think of something you loved as a kid.

Maybe coloring or swinging or building forts, whatever it was, if you found joy in it, and if it's something that sounds really exciting to you today, do it again.

Like I said, I don't think I'm gonna bring the bugs back.

That was a really.

I was kind of a strange child, but I loved bugs.

I think I'm done with the bugs, at least in this season of my life.

But I've enjoyed drawing.

I love going to the park.

I love coloring.

Swinging, not so much.

I get really bad motion sickness.

So swinging was never fun for me.

But I do love playing on the jungle gym.

I'll drag jungle gym.

I'll drag Will up there and make him play with me.

Sometimes he would prefer like video games and comic books and all of that.

I feel like he has a much easier time incorporating play and joy into his life than I do.

But I've definitely been trying.

And then I've also been reading just a lot of really fun books.

I've always read a lot, but in the last couple of years all of my books were very personal development and business and very serious and all the things I had to be learning and self improving all the time.

And now I've just been reading some just books for fun.

I can't get into the acotar, whatever it is with all the like fairies and all that stuff.

I tried to, I really did because I have friends that absolutely love those books.

They rave about them and I wanted to get into it, I really did, because I wanted to be part of the group and I wanted to be able to talk to everybody about it, but I just couldn't get into it.

It makes me a little sad.

But I did try another action.

Step we can take is practice playful mindfulness.

Skip instead of walk, laugh at yourself or try a new game.

The last year I have definitely done a lot of laughing at myself.

I think because I've done so many new things and put my myself in so many new situations, I haven't had a choice but to laugh at myself.

Like when I fell off of the bike at Versailles, I didn't laugh Right away.

But now it's a really funny story.

And then with this podcast, I mean, I have to laugh at myself all the time because there's just so many things that I'm not good at.

And when you put a microphone in front of yourself, you really hear all of your weaknesses.

Not necessarily when the microphone is in front of you, but when you're editing later on, it's like, oh, my God, do I really sound like that?

Like, it's so humiliating.

But once again, you just have to laugh at yourself.

And then number three on our action steps is create daydreamer time.

Explore curiosity with no judgment or expectations.

This is something that I have been trying to do.

At least a few times a month, I'll turn on some jazz music.

It'll usually be right when I get out of the shower.

Sometimes I'll have a glass of wine.

I'm trying to not drink at home.

Not that it's necessarily a problem, but I'm like, you know, like, why don't I make myself some tea or make myself a kombucha or whatever it is.

I'm trying to be more mindful.

But every once in a while, your girl needs a glass of chardonnay, you know?

And I will turn on some jazz music and I'll just get out my journal and I will daydream and I will think of fun things and I will write silly stuff in my journal and I'll just do whatever it is that feels good in the moment.

And like I said, I try to do that a few times a month.

I would love to do it a couple of times a week, but it's honestly something that I don't think about very often.

And maybe I need to be more intentional about that because that is something that I really enjoy doing.

So those are a few action steps for you.

If you're struggling to reconnect with play, think of something you loved doing as a kid.

Practice playful mindfulness and create daydreamer time.

And I want you to remember that play is not just for relaxing.

If you still feel a little guilt about having play in your life, incorporating play into your life, remember that play can support your growth because it can help you with your personal and professional growth.

When we step away from the grind and the hustle and we have fun, we create space for clarity and fresh ideas and just a renewed energy and stepping away and giving ourselves the time to daydream and use our imagination and use our problem solving skills in fun and creative ways.

It can really, like I said change our lives in so many different ways and also just bring us joy and allow us to show up in better ways in all areas of our lives.

So this week, I want you to give yourself permission to play.

I want you to pick one playful activity.

No rules, no judgment, just joy.

And I want you to lean into it, let yourself laugh, be silly, and reconnect with your inner child.

And then I want you to DM me and tell me how it felt.

Because this one might be a little hard to post on your stories, but DM me and say, hey girl, I just went skipping down my driveway and I literally had so much fun and just incorporate some kind of play, even if it's only five minutes and you don't even have to tell me about it.

If that'll actually get you to do it.

If it'll get you to like get outside or pull out a coloring book or do something that is just for you and it feels playful and you can just pull away from the world, I want you to do whatever it is, even if it's only five minutes.

Because we don't stop playing because we grow old.

We grow old because we don't stop playing.

And yeah, I just hit y'all with a really good quote.

That quote is George Bernard Shaw, and I just thought that that was a great ending to this podcast episode because that's so true.

Some of the people that I know that are in their 80s and 90s and are still getting down with the get down, they have fun all of the time.

And at this point in my life, that is one of my big goals is I want to just keep on having fun and keep on dancing and doing my horrible calligraphy as long as I can.

Thank you for tuning into this episode of the Elevated Edit.

Remember, life doesn't have to be all hustle and grind.

There's room for joy, too.

Thank y'all so much for joining me.

If you would leave a review, I would love that.

If you will share this with your friends, I would love that as well and I will see y'all in the next episode.

Thank you for tuning in to the Elevated Edit podcast.

I hope you found today's episode inspiring and full of actionable tips.

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Until next time, keep growing, glowing and elevating your life.

See you soon.