In a highly empowered, productive life, usually the division between work and play is blurred

That is a quote from Stuart Brown, a psychiatrist and a leading expert in the field of play. See 'Importance of Being Playful' conference at UC by Stephanie M. Lee of The San Francisco Chronicle. Here are some excerpts and they remind me of Joseph Campbell and following your bliss:

""There are consequences in adulthood when we don't engage in getting into a state of play," Brown said. "That means we're less flexible, less adaptive, less resilient and poorer stress managers.""

"His first interviews - with young men convicted of murder and their relatives - revealed a common theme in the killers' childhoods. "There was abuse, suppression, a failure of engaging in rough-and-tumble play," he said. "There was a vast difference between those individuals and those we studied who hadn't engaged in homicide."

"Play is strongly linked to physical and mental health, said Brown, who defines play as apparently purposeless, voluntary, inherently appealing and potentially improvisational."

"The brain science behind play is still not entirely understood. But playful social interaction is strongly affected by dopamine, endorphins and other neurotransmitters that are also intimately linked to the motivational and pleasurable aspects of food, drugs and sex, studies show. The brain regions where positive emotions and motivation originate also mediate play." "

"When you look at a highly empowered, productive life, usually the division between work and play is blurred," he said. "Work is play. There is a sense of joyfulness about engaging and being a lab scientist or entrepreneur or whatever.""

I'm glad they mentioned entrepreneurs, because I have written about how they are heroes. And Campbell said they were heroes, too.

Related posts:

Paul Krugman Thinks Like A Small Child. Krugman talks about how economists need to play with ideas in hypothetical settings. This post also mentions Alison Gopnik's book The Philosophical Baby. It also emphasizes play in development.

Does Neuroscience Prove That You Should Follow Your Bliss?

Are You More Likely To Be Successful If You Do Something You Love?

Joseph Campbell on Entrepreneurship

The Creative-Destroyers: Are Entrepreneurs Mythological Heroes?

The Calling of the Entrepreneur (Published in The New Leaders: The Business Bulletin for Transformative Leadership, November/December 1992.)