What is ‘lemonading’ and why should we embrace it?

When was the last time you flew a kite? Played with Lego? Or simply embraced a bad situation with good humour?

As it turns out, play is about more than just silly fun – it can make us better, more resilient humans.

An American study published in February examined the role of playfulness in helping adults navigate adversity. It found that participants with higher levels of playfulness were more adept at handling stress, more adaptive in difficult situations and experienced life with greater depth and enjoyment.

A growing body of research supports the physical and mental benefits of play at all stages of life.Credit: iStock

The study added to a growing body of research on the importance of play for adults, including greater life satisfaction, overall wellbeing, creativity and enhanced cognitive flexibility.

Xiangyou Shen, the paper’s lead researcher and an assistant professor at Oregon State University, says the study set out to answer a core question: “Does being playful actually change how we see and experience the world?”

They measured playfulness according to the adult playfulness trait scale, which examines traits like spontaneity, uninhibitedness and fun-seeking motivation.

The study did indeed find that playful adults saw and experienced the world differently, but crucially, they weren’t naive to its realities.

“Playful adults don’t view the world through rose-tinted glasses, but rather via what we call a ‘colour spotlight’ – they selectively focus on possibilities for positive experiences while maintaining clear-eyed realism about challenges,” says Shen.

What is ‘lemonading’?

“Lemonading” is a term Shen and her colleagues coined as a twist on the well-worn platitude about making the most out of what you have.

Shen defines it as, “creatively imagining and pursuing positive possibilities to cultivate adaptive, enjoyable experiences despite constraints”.

Conducted during COVID-19, Shen says what was most interesting is that “while [playful adults] participated in similar types of leisure activities with similar frequency as others, they experienced daily moments with significantly greater immersion, energy, and positive emotion – essentially making lemonade from lemons.”

Why adults still need to play

Daniel Teitelbaum, founder and lead facilitator of Playful Thinking, holding a workshop on negotiation with Communities in Control staff Meg Singleton and Rose Mircevski.Credit: Penny Stephens

Daniel Teitelbaum, director and lead facilitator of Playful Thinking, an organisation that delivers play-based development workshops to Australian workplaces, says most adults he works with are uncomfortable with the idea of play to begin with.

“Because childhood is defined by play, adulthood is almost necessarily defined by moving away from play,” he says.

“The state of playfulness is something we are really, really alienated from in a big way in our communities.”

Many adults, particularly those who have childhood trauma associated with play, simply need “permission” to play as adults, he says.

But both Teitelbaum and Shen think the dial is slowly starting to move on our perception of play.

Credit: Matt Golding

Shen says corporations like Google and 3M have embraced playfulness in the workplace to harness creativity, while younger generations are less preoccupied with rigid boundaries between work and play.

Still, she says, “many adults experience ‘play guilt’ – the feeling that playful engagement is somehow irresponsible or immature”.

“Our research indicates that even highly playful adults may downplay this quality in certain contexts, concerned about being perceived as unprofessional or frivolous.”

But Shen hopes this will continue to change.

“The growing evidence for play-based interventions across the lifespan reflects a deeper recognition that playfulness may be an essential ingredient for human flourishing at any age – not just a childhood indulgence but a lifelong resource for resilience, wellbeing and growth,” she says.

How to be more playful

If play is something that has been absent from your adult life, it can be difficult to know how to get started.

Teitelbaum suggests a simple activity designed to stimulate curiosity, inspired by Alexandra Horowitz’s On Looking. Before a walk, bike ride or your daily commute, pick a topic of focus, like architecture, greenery a specific colour or dog breed.

“What it shows is how what we’re open to is what we see, and curiosity is about proactively choosing to see things differently,” he says.

Another portal into play is to think of activities you do with your hands, like knitting, Lego or drawing. Try not to concern yourself with being good at these, or having an end goal.

“A deep experience of play is the kind of play that allows for purposelessness,” says Teitelbaum.

To start lemonading and cultivate play in everyday life, Shen suggests:

• “At day’s end, swap ‘How productive was I?’ for ‘What moments of fun did I discover?’
• “Start small – turn one mundane task into a mini-adventure each day. Even spreadsheets can become treasure maps with the right mindset.
• “When facing obstacles, channel your inner inventor: ask ‘What possibilities lurk here?’ instead of fixating on limitations.
• “Give yourself permission to take the scenic route – literally and metaphorically. ”

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