Have fun today. “Play more, live longer”, as they say, and play also helps people live better, relax more and maintain their relationships.

Play in young animals, including humans, is about learning and developing skills they’ll need later in life. It’s also a way to let off steam.

You may think that grown-ups don’t need the skills development bit (you’ve learned everything, right?), but play is still a great stress-buster. It’s also good for relationships – all kinds of relationships – as it enhances social bonding.

By the way, competitive sport doesn’t count, I mean play for the fun of it; mischief, frivolity, jolliment, romps, cavorting and all the rest which are diverting and enjoyable.

For learning new skills and polishing existing ones, you could think of play as rehearsal. Practicing something in a light-hearted way means that it is less threatening, you’ll be more relaxed and it’s easier to learn that way.

I know from working with thousands of people that most adults are play-shy. Some are so worried about it that they won’t attend a workshop if they think they will be asked to take part in games or role play.

Being afraid of having fun means that many people deny themselves the benefits of play for the sake of it which is a shame, in both senses of the word.