After writing that last post on the important of play, I figured it was time to share my personal goal for the action of playing.

Goal: I will spend at least one hour each week in an outdoor recreation activity (not including normal exercise).

Since getting involved in blogging and working on projects around the house, I haven’t taken much time to get outdoors and enjoy some of my favorite activities. I haven’t been taking time to play. So, I’ve set a goal to get out for at least an hour each week.

So, what is it that I like to do? I really enjoy backpacking and hiking. I also enjoy taking the dogs to the local dog park. Another favorite is disc golf. Our local park district installed a course near our home last year and I immediately began playing the sport that I hadn’t played for years. This morning I went to the course to play in our regular monthly tournament after taking a two month break. I think my 1st place win and a new personal best were signs that I need to get back out and start playing regularly.

So, once a week I will be taking at least an hour to do something I love. And on occasion, my wife or sons will double the fun by coming along. So, taking time to play is on my list of life goals.

When we think of play, we usually picture children. But play is valuable to adults as well. When we were young, play was our social networking, our way of learning, our exercise and our escape. The same is still true in adulthood, but may of us have forgotten how to play. More importantly, we’ve forgotten the value of play.

Play is taking time away from our work and our responsibilities to do what is pleasurable and not required. Play is our break from obligations, our time for renewal and our retreat from the serious. Play brings back the adventure and joy of childhood; that feeling of release.

Play can be passive, in the form of entertainment such going to a movie or listening to a CD. Play is also recreation, activities requiring involvement and action such as playing tennis or going fishing. Play diverts our attention from the drudgery of the day by engaging our mind and our body. It can reduce stress, improve health, and strengthen relationships.

Some of us don’t spend enough time engaged in play. We focus our investments of time and money into the business of life; forgetting the importance of play. I have had the opposite affliction…spending too much time at play. Letting my recreation get in the way of my obligations. So play requires balance.

In order to benefit from the Seven Actions, play must be a part of our formula. That means understanding the value of play and making it one of our priorities. Enjoy life, take a break, and renew yourself. What do you do for play?

But life is not over and the journey is still underway. I am at a point in my life where I need to revisit the goals that I have set, consider some new paths and set new targets for myself.

Over the years I have come to believe that our lives can be summed up in Seven Actions: love, play, live, seek, learn, invest, and work. Everything we do falls into one of these Seven Actions. By seeking to understand these actions, what they mean, and how we can use them to improve ourselves, we begin to take control of our lives. And when we are in control, we can choose our own path, create our own happiness and determine our own future.

So, I’ve set some new goals for my life. I’ve organized them by the Seven Actions. During the next year I will be talking about these goals, and the progress I am making. I will share with you what works and what doesn’t.

But this blog is not just about me. This blog is about change; and it’s about you. It is about using each of the Seven Actions to better our lives and become what we most want for ourselves. I hope you will visit often.

What you can expect:

• Regular posts and articles about using the Seven Actions to change your life.
• News and information about real ways to reach your goals.
• Tips, tools and resources that will improve your life at work, home and in the community.
• Encouragement from others who are changing their lives.

What you won’t get:

• A lot of fluffy words about change with no help with no real answers.
• Paid posts that promote a product or service without real experience that it works.
• Answers from a guru who knows everything and has life all figured out. (This is just one way of looking at life, and by no means the answer to everything.)