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I’m currently researching play in coaching as part of a Master’s programme and have been surrounding myself with the work of some amazing play theorists and researchers. I’ve

been blown away by how much work on play has been done over the past decades showing the wide range benefits of play and yet many of the organisations I’ve encountered over my life have failed to harness the benefits. The same is arguably true of the coaching profession despite some great research over the past number of years.

Anyway, I just thought that I would share some thought-provoking quotes over the coming months as I progress along this journey. Today, I’ve chosen Donald Winnicott. I’ve been a fan of his work but only came Playing and Reality a couple of months back. Like all his work, it is strewn with pearls of wisdom. For me, the following quote really resonates and I keep coming back to it. Not only is it influencing my work but also how I turn up in the world.

“It is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self” (Donald Winnicott – Playing and Reality).