Hopscotch

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!” Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! Dr. Theodor Seuss

The theme for our meeting today at Toastmasters is ‘old-fashioned fun.’ The facilitator provides the questions for our topic and selects different members to share their answers. It’s a great session, soon evolving into a focus on old games enjoyed during childhood. When Hopscotch is mentioned, I am immediately transported back into my childhood when, using just a simple piece of chalk, we played on the sidewalk in front of our home in Birmingham, Alabama.

Hopscotch was only one of many games we played.   I can still hear the words, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Robert right over,” another favorite pastime (also known as ‘octopus tag’). We played hide-and-seek, baseball, football and basketball. We also invented games using an assortment of different balls in many shapes and sizes. Other games enjoyed included Horseshoes and Washers (similar to Horseshoes). We put together puzzles. We even put on shows for each other where predictable laughter (at good and bad acting) was always the result.  Now that was real entertainment! Non-existent were computers, iPads® or smart phones. If we were going to enjoy entertainment, we had to do the entertaining.

I can remember building a fort out of discarded old bricks from a chimney removed from our home. Mom gave us pots, pans and spoons with the simple instruction to “bang away,” often sending the bangers outside to eliminate the noise inside.

No one had to tell us to use our imaginations in creating group afternoon entertainment. It was an unspoken given. Using simple gizmos, we created new games or spin-offs of old games. We were inventors, explorers of the universe within our minds. Communication was instant and powerful. There was no pause button. Our imaginations ruled the day.

Rules for new games were often developed along during the game, sometimes leading to arguments. There was much dialogue about what game to play and who would be picked first for one team against the other team. Our fun activities were on the fly . . . in the moment. If I told you I had a great time as a kid playing in our neighborhood, I would not be telling you the whole truth – I had a completely fantastic time! Mom often had to call multiple times to get us to come home for the evening. Today, they are powerful memories of a time when imaginations ruled our world. Did you experience any of this in your childhood?

Recently, I have been listening to others, many much younger than I am, mention immense challenges they are experiencing with myriad electronic devices taking over our world. The proverbial ‘genie’ is out of the bottle and it will never be put back into the bottle during our lifetime. We are living in a new age that has forever changed our lives. Do you agree?

Do you ever get the sense, like I do, that modern electronic devices, designed to speed things up, have in some ways actually slowed things down? There is so much to process but without sufficient time because the incoming messages are overwhelmingly relentless. Even our filters need filters! There is no rest for the ‘electronic warriors’ of the day.

Parents and grandparents are voicing concern about how electronic devices are literally consuming the lives of our young people. Not surprising that research on the inherent effects is now surfacing. I won’t list any of the particular studies since they are easily found on the Internet. Research is in and more research is on its way. You do not have to read a study to know that there is a downside to a substantial use of these devices by our kids. This issue is affecting adults, too. Does this not seem obvious?

My question is, if you are bothered by this challenging ‘new world,’ what are you doing about it? Do you completely accept it without reservation, without conviction? Do you believe that you can make a determination to bring more imagination into your life? To grow your relationships? To learn how to again communicate one-on-one? To elevate a successful life, not in ignoring the sometimes disruptive electronic world, but because we embrace the reality of human relationships?

If you want to do something that will help in restoring imagination development, more effective communication, and improvement in the opportunities for success, the answer lies in reducing your electronic time and replacing it with some old-fashioned, tried-and-true strategies. Start speaking to people. Spend solitary time thinking. Get outdoors. For centuries, these tactics have proven beneficial. They worked a long time ago and they will work now in our new electronic world.

I have five practical ideas to help enhance life in this new world without actually totally escaping current trends:

1. Create non-electronic time.   The options are endless. Vacations without smart phones (we did this on a vacation in Montana). Schedule time every day when you set aside electronic devices. Disallow phones during family meal time (of course, you must first have family meal time!). Read e-mails only twice a day, instead of constantly. Institute a reward system for TV as a special event rather than as a regular activity. (These rules for kids work for adults, too). If you live with kids, your example is paramount, and will help in persuading the younger folks to get onboard with the positive possibilities that will assuredly unfold.
2. Schedule outdoor activities. Fish, hunt, play outside games, hike or do things in the wild.   The woods and waters will renew us in ways no electronic app could ever do (as stated in Stephen Covey’s “Sharpen the Saw” concept). I love to fish! Hardly a week goes by that I do not experience a boat trip. Discover an outside activity that you love and use it to replace electronic time. Kelly, our eldest daughter, has created a three-hour family segment each Sunday when absolutely no one is allowed to use an electronic device.
3. Play non-electronic games. How about Hopscotch and Red Rover? In my childhood, we also played indoor games like Rook and Dominoes. Along the way, we renewed and grew our relationships. And relationships are key to success in life.
4. Visit family and friends in person. Leaving your phone behind, enjoy at least a 30-minute conversation with someone you care about . . . get reacquainted – no phones within reach. You may discover, as I have, that you are regaining control for your life – perhaps for the first time in years. Real personal communication, where ideas are exchanged, has probably created more success in our world than any other single tactic. Every great company and successful project started with a single idea. And ideas are often developed during conversations. Have a face-to-face conversation with someone without distractions. This is radical in our new world.
5. Turn off the computer! Also the phone, iPad® and other electronic devices. Do something drastic. Read e-mails only twice a day. Discard the ‘instant response’ mentality. Get out of your comfortable chair and start living a new life.

Here are several thoughts on imagination from among the most renowned individual thinkers in history:

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” Mark Twain

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” Thomas A. Edison

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”  Albert Einstein

If the only new ideas are those that come to you in the constant feed of your electronic devices, then your potential for imagination may very well be dormant. How do you bring it back to life? Eliminate the constant current electronic flow of information saturating your valuable time. Start thinking original thoughts!   Start creating short sessions of zero distractions where your mind is completely free to think. Just think! Don’t worry about production or what you want to accomplish. Allow your thought processes to soar – with no strings attached. If you have not been doing this, your life is going to have a noticeable change. It will not take long. I do ‘thinking’ without fail every single morning with repetition throughout the day. This is a habit that I cannot stop. Personal ‘think time’ has changed my life in positive and productive ways in which electronic activity cannot or will never do.

Talk to others. Do it on purpose. Hide all electronic devices when you are doing this. Create a strategy for your life where you talk and listen one-on-one to others. Communication is the electricity that provides power to our successful ideas.

Get outdoors. Breathe in fresh air. Your imagination will soar!

Think. Talk. Go outside.

Today . . .

I will eliminate a portion of time spent in the electronic world.

I will let my imagination run wild.

I will have some old-fashioned fun playing games with others.

I will spend time thinking.

I will communicate with others, one-on-one.

I will go outdoors.