At Play4Agile, Olaf Lewitz and I hosted an exploratory session on personal growth hacks. Everyone shared ideas and turned into the self-appreciation game.
Purpose of the Game
The purpose of the game is to give people practice at accepting praise and recognition so that we feel good about our accomplishments and successes. This cultivates our sense of self-worth so that we are more resourceful at work and in our personal lives.
Why Play the Game
In our society there’s rarely room to learn how to accept praise and recognition. We squirm and say “it was nothing” because it feels uncomfortable. We have a hard time seeing our own self-worth and feel this disconnect when we receive praise.
This is a great game to help people and teams become more resourceful so they are able to co-create a more positive environment.
It is very helpful if you are working to create a people-oriented organization.
Game Rules
Setup
Form a circle. If you have more than 10 people, consider the option of forming two smaller groups.
Explain the purpose of the game and it’s mechanics.
Mechanics
Go around the circle with each person taking turns:
- Brag Protocol: Pick something that you are proud of and share it with the group.
- Applause: Everyone cheers and claps to celebrate your success.
- Soak it in: Let the appreciation soak in like maple syrup in a pancake. Connect deeply and fully with the feeling for 10 to 15 seconds. See Hardwiring Happiness for further explanation of letting in the good.
Go around the circle 2 to 4 times depending on how much time and energy you have.
Game Results
As we went around the circle the connection and trust increased. Everyone left this game feeling awesome.
Why This Game is Important to Me
I am on an epic quest for self-worth so that I can engage with the world from a centered and whole place. So that I carry my own weather around inside me. The game was invented to help me level up on my quest. And it worked. I hope you are interested in similar benefits.
Acknowledgements
We are deeply grateful to the participants of the workshop who helped co-create and test drive this game.
