Play isn't a distraction.
It's essential fuel to a life worth living.
Life is too short to be living in constant fear and anxiety.
We all know how it feels to enter into the flow state where everything disappears. You are simply present to the moment fully engaged and letting it... flow.
I guess I'm like a surfer that doesn't surf.
Chasing the waves of flow.
Having a hobby that allows you to enter that state is fuel to your life.
At least It has been for me.
I'm an athlete. But I let that part of me die after college football days.
Then I started playing basketball just a couple years ago. And now pickleball.
I can't believe I missed out on nearly a decade of not playing sports.
It's such a part of who I am It causes me to feel surprised I've gone that long without it.
I played golf a bit but it's not the same fast paced action I enjoy a bit more.
Honoring the part of you that desires play is a good start.
Realizing it makes you better at all the other things you value in life, your spouse, kids, business..
To actually value it and not say stupid stuff like "I don't have time. I gotta work and pay bills man what fairy tail land are you living in." Or "must be nice."
And damn right it is. Very nice.
So what is it for you? Everyone has a different ways they play.