And if so is that why we avoid it?

The truth is we can't know for sure. We may be transforming ourselves all the time but when we do it without pain we don't notice it happening.

Certainly the transformation of becoming a parent is painful, and goes on being a challenge for a good twenty years at least.

To transform ourselves into a brilliant athlete or concert pianist has pain attached.

We recognise these facts but very few people don't become parents in order to avoid that pain. People feel it's worth it (even though they might joke about this) for most the pain of not having children is far worse.

I have heard many parents say that if they had realised just how much of a challenge being a parent is they may not have gone there. So is it all about what we know, what we expect?

I'm not saying that using Play as a transformational tool is a painless method of transformation. What I am suggesting is that quite often, it's our expectation of pain that stops us from doing what is best for us; that keeps us in our "comfort zone".

Play is a tool we can use to step away from our expectations so that we can start afresh and just open ourselves out to see what could, what might happen. To get nearer to our potential by dropping our limiting beliefs (and all our beliefs, sometimes the ones we "believe" are positive are actually limiting us. Like the friend who recently told me she realised that by forcing herself to always come up with solutions she was preventing her husband from stepping fully into his role as a man; it's been a difficult lesson for her but one which has helped them both as individuals and their relationship enormously).

In  Playpays Play Session you will be offered opportunities to reconnect with the self you were before you build up all the beliefs and expectations you now have.

Sometimes that is hard for people to do, to drop ego and outcome in this way; and sometimes it's just hard because we expect it to be...

Perhaps you can use play to sidestep your limitations and just "be" in the moment, experiencing fully, encountering your true limitless self the self you were before you surrounded it with shoulds and judgements.