Frontiers Friday #122: Play (Part IV)⭕️
The last five powerful recommendations on play and learning to fall in front of others.
Overwhelmed in Singapore
It’s week-two in Singapore. Though I haven’t been back since covid hit the fan, I’m somewhat surprised by my sensory overload. I mean, I grew up here. But walking around town is abit overwhelming. I now prefer to take a bus instead of a cab because I feel sick from the speed of most drivers. Maybe it’s age, but I didn’t use to get feel this way.
So much have changed in a short span of three years. More than 50% of the hawker food stalls near my parents’ place have changed. Subway is now in our neighborhood. I have to download more than 5 apps on my phone to travel and make payments. Extra train lines have sprouted all over the island (which kinda makes me wonder if tiny Singapore might sink from so much digging underground).
It has been worth it. So glad to hang out with my old friends, mentors, and family.
Here’s wishing all who celebrate Chinese New Year a really good one in the coming days. Such days are fraud with interrogative questions (“where are you working now?” “Are you married yet?” “When are going to have kids?”), spring cleaning, and good food.
In any case, it’s another chance for courage and renewal.
Quick shout-out to the people at National Council of Social Service (NCSS) for the invitation to run a training. A pleasant surprise to re-connect with colleagues and friends.
Onwards with today’s Frontiers Friday (FF) final five recommendations on the topic of Play (Part IV). In case you missed it, here’s the first three parts on the topic of Play:
📽 Watch: Tales of Creativity and Play
Don’t let the older video quality of this talk by CEO of IDEO Tim Brown turn you off.
I was so struck by this talk. I even stole an exercise that he did at the beginning called “draw your neighbor’s face in 30 secs” at some of my workshops.And guess what some audience members say just before the clock starts for this exercise? “Sorry.”
Tim Brown is also the author of Change by Design, which is a useful guide on how to use design thinking principles to solve problems.
Here’s another segment from his talk. What can you do with a tin foil?
📽 Watch: A Talk by Molly Wright
Take advice from 7-year-old Molly Wright. Peek-a-boo can change the world.
📽 Watch: 5 Dangerous Things to Let Your Kids Do
I know it might seem like an overkill on TED talk recommendations so far. Looking back, this particular keynote had a huge influence on me, especially as a parent.
What are the 5 dangerous things to let your kids do?i. Play with fire
ii. Own a knife
iii. Throw a Spear
iii. Deconstruct things
iv. Drive a car
My wife gets uncomfortable with numbers 1 and 2, and of course, my kids get to “drive” a car without the engine running.In essence, the principle I glean from this is to allow Tinkering — for all ages. So many of us are molded into a performance mindset that we become stunted in our willingness to try things out.
I love the reminder from cognitive scientist Robert Bjork, that an over-emphasis on performance can impede learning (See this video/ podcast where I talk When Performing Impedes Learning).
⭕️ New From My Desk: Fall in Front of Others
I grew up skateboarding. It was my escape plan. It took me places. I learned mastery from skateboarding. I learned to hide injuries from my father, cos’ the pain of the falls are less than the wrath of my father.Here’s the reason I’m sharing this on my other blog site, Full Circles. We need to learn to lose ourselves in things that make us come alive.
For more, click here.⏸ Words Worth Contemplating:
“The unexamined life is surely worth living, but is the unlived life worth examining?”
~ Parker Palmer
Reflection
Our well-being is determined by our well-doings.
What are you doing to help you come alive?
BIG HUGS TO NEW PEOPLE WHO ARE AT THEIR FRONTIER!
If you've just joined us, I'm glad you can join us at the "bleeding edge." Feel free to check out the back catalogue of Frontiers of Psychotherapists Development (FPD). You might also want to go into specific topics in the FPD Archives like
And if you want to see past newsletters, the entire archive is now made available in substack.
In case you missed it, see the most recent missives
Devotion to the Craft (6 Parts)
Caring for People in Organisations (3 Parts)
Clinical Supervision (3 Parts)
Feedback Informed Treatment (4 Parts)
Unintended Consequences (2 Parts)
Deep Learner (4 Parts)
Going Further with Deep Learner and The Use of Obsidian (6 Parts)
See What You Hear, Hear What You See (4 Parts)
Trauma (3 Parts)
Deliberate Practice (5 Parts)
Empathy (6 Parts)
Therapist Effects (2 Parts)
Client Point of View (4 Parts)
Tech Tools for Therapists (4 Parts)
Emotions (6 Parts)
Sensitivity (3 Parts)
Alliance (6 Parts)
Existence (6 Parts)
My other blog site is called FullCircles: Reflections on Living
By the way, don't feel bad if you want to unsubscribe to this newsletter. This might not be for you. The last thing I want is to add to the anxious clutter of our inboxes.
Daryl Chow Ph.D. is the author of The First Kiss, co-author of Better Results, and The Write to Recovery, Creating Impact, and the forthcoming book The Field Guide to Better Results.
Note:
These newsletter are free, but many hours are spent handpicking the curated list that make it to Frontiers Friday, as well as writing the essays and recording the videos and podcasts. Amazon affiliate links, if any, are to help ease the costs. You can also support the sustenance of this work by picking up any of the books, dive deep into our courses, or gifting them to others.
Big thanks.
Please excuse any typos.