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My Happiness Blog
Sharing things to help you find more happiness

Feeling blocked, unmotivated and uninspired?  Part 2: Time to Play

4/16/2015

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Welcome to Part 2 of my mini post series about how to deal with feeling blocked, stuck or in a rut.  

In my last post I talked about using Inspiration  to  help you break you out of your blocked state.  And in this post I am going to speak about Playing Games to stimulate your brain  to help you come up with a fresh and fun way to approach to your problem or block.
PART 2: Play a Game to Clear Blocks

 Do you remember playing as a kid – how you could quickly forget you just skinned your knees from a fall, because you were having so much fun playing with a friend? Well the same trick works when it comes to overcoming any kind of block.  Playing a game, can not only help you forget the fact you were in a blocked state, but if you play the right games you can discover ideas or solutions that will help you get your forward momentum back.

Set aside at least 15 minutes to play a game by yourself or with others. This can break your mental loop and help you get your brain to shift gears and get energized again with stimulation.

Not all games are equal or beneficial. Some games, decks and apps are just good for entertainment and distraction but there are some games out there that do more – they stimulate and inspire.

Feel free to try these:
And please share with me in the comments section if you have others to recommend

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Disruptus – Everyone of all Ages
The main purpose of this game is to stimulate innovation and disruptive thinking.  This game has been enjoyed by kids of all ages, but has also been a powerful tool used by Corporations to help them think outside the box and come up with ways to disrupt the stagnation of their own products and services.  Need help breaking the boundaries? Try this game.


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Creativity Whack Pack
Great for Creative Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Corporate teams

Author and Innovator Roger Von Oech, is a known leader for creating books and tools to help people break down the blocks and get back into action again.  This Creativity Whack Pack is well respected across creative and corporate types alike. In fact recently 
Timothy Ferris (of Four Hour Workweek, Body, Chef) even included this as one of his personally curated items in his Quarterly.co contributor package. 

So if you need to break out of habitual thought patterns, this is a good tool for you. Used by executives, entrepreneurs and artists, they use this 64 card deck to generate new ideas, make decisions and basically provides you a "creativity workshop in a box." 
(there is also a Creative Whack app in iTunes you can now purchase too) 


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Innovation Games - for Agile Entrepreneurs 

And, for those of you who are startups or agile entrepreneurs and are blocked about what products or features to build, I recommend checking out 
Innovation Games. 

When I was at Adobe, we received training in innovation games and processes, which turned out to be a great way to brainstorm, prioritize and plan, especially when you are trying to narrow down on what to work on next, when you have a large backlog of issues and features you want to address.

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The Whole Brain Game
I like this game because they designed it to get you to use both the left and right side of your brain.  Filled with intriguing and thought-provoking questions it is a great tool to get those mental juices going. This is perfect if you wan to engage both the creative and logical parts of your mind. 

You can play this with others or play by yourself. If you want to play by yourself, simply grab a dozen cards randomly and try answering them.  
So I challenge you right now! 
Get up go play a creativity building fun game and see what happens!
~

In the third part of this Blog series - We will talk about how exercise and physical movement can sweep away those mental blocks.


 RECOMMENDED READS: 
Part 1: Feeling blocked? Get Inspired

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Feeling blocked, unmotivated and uninspired?  Part 1: Get Inspired

4/2/2015

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Ever had a time in your life where you  felt blocked, stuck or in a rut?
The fact at some point in our lives, we will all be in this situation.

And There is nothing more frustrated when you can't see the forest through the trees.  Whether you are having writers block, lacking inspiration or just plain feeling stuck. Sometimes to get the juices flowing again you have to 
  • Take a deep breath, give your self a moment of white space and then take a second look at the situation
  • Shake things up and do something entirely different
  • Gamify the situation and convert the problem into playing
  • Use tools to help you look at the situation in an entirely different way

Are you ready to clear away some mental junk?    Great! 

This a four part series sharing ideas and tools to help you get unstuck.
1. Get Inspired - Need a quick inspiration boost right now? 
2. Time to Play - Need help Gamifying a way out of your rut?
3. Move your Body to Move your Mind - Its all about leveraging the body mind connection
4. Get out of your Head: Writing and Talking about it clears the air

(and if I missed any of your favorites - feel free to chime in on the comments section)

Let's Get Started

Get Inspired
Its time to summon your modern muse. Through exposing yourself to new ideas and taking a moment to laugh you can 
How do you do that? Let me share a few of my favorite ways 

Expose yourself to new Ideas
TED Talks - I can’t say enough good things about TED. I aspire to attendee one of these incredible events. They curate and bring together the most brilliant, inspirational and powerful innovators, philosophers, technologists and philanthropists – all who present short video talks about ideas that bring meaning and matter to our lives and the world around us. If I am feeling down or
stuck or need inspiration I simply go online and watch one of these 5 to 20 minute videos.


This amazing video from Elora Hardy who creates amazing bespoke homes right out of her imagination


Laughter is the best medicine
 IcanhasCheezburger - This site is ridiculous and that is why I love it so much. It makes me laugh and sometime laughter is a great way to disrupt and break up a mental block. Just a warning – if you are in an office environment–  you will more than likely find yourself laughing out loud.
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Find inspiration in Others
 You Tube – You can search for “inspiration” or “inspirational” and you can find a wide selection of videos that will help you move back into a to a state of mental motion.  One video I really like is called Levitate. The first few times I saw it I felt chills with excitement.  This video is a great way to change your locked state as it will inspire you  to take action after you see this. 

And if that video didn't get your energy going - and you are in a state where you are feeling sorry for yourself - that you feel like  you can't do it. Then watch this.  I felt after watching this, I had no excuses for taking action I had been procrastinating.
This kid is pure unadulterated inspiration to me.  If he can do it, I can do it, and you can do it. 


So are you feeling more inspired right now? Is your mind starting to break out of that rut.  Fantastic! 

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Next in the Unblock Series:
PART 2: Time to Play - Need help Gamifying a way out of your rut?

Now it's your turn...  
What are your favorite ways to inspire yourself to achieve and overcome being stuck? 
1 Comment

    Author

    Hello,
    I'm so glad you're here.
    My name is Holly Hansen.
    and I help people lead happier more meaningful lives through my Empowerment Coaching

    I am also the Creator of Mental Spa Experiences and My Happiness Box.


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  • Home
  • EXPERIENCES | COACHING
    • Happiness Coaching
    • Mental Spa Day
    • Speaking Inquiry - Happiness Talks
  • HAPPINESS SHOP
    • Favorite Happiness Books
    • Favorite Happiness Goodies
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  • More About Four Keys
  • Happiness Coaching - Private Sessions
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