Knowing How to Have Fun Is Essential to a Healthy Life
Original Source: http://www.mba4success.com
Author: Andrew Thorn, PhD
Original Publication Date:
On the way to the airport yesterday my taxi followed a minivan full of school children. Several times, a couple of children in the back seat, who looked to be about seven or eight years old, peered over the seat and smiled and laughed at us. Their smiles were beautiful and infectious. I am not sure what they were seeing that made made them so happy, but they were having a wonderful time.
As I watched them, I remembered how simple it was to smile about things as a child. I can remember times when I was crying one moment and smiling the next. There was always something to smile about. Nothing was ever taken too seriously for very long. We even found something to laugh about in church.
Smile
One of my favorite rules is Rule # 6. I first became acquainted with this rule when I read Benjamin and Rosamund Zander’s book The Art of Possibility. It is a great read for many different reasons, but understanding Rule # 6 may be the best argument for going out and getting a copy.
Rule # 6 states, Don’t take yourself so gosh darn seriously. It reminds us that there are a lot of great things going on right now, all around us, that are worth smiling about. For whatever reason, we get so serious, that we forget to have fun and to be happy. This rule tells us to stop doing that and enjoy life.
My Double Seater
Let me illustrate my point. When my parents were newly married, they were selected to play the game show, Let’s Make A Deal with Monty Hall. They won a tandem bicycle. Our family had a lot of fun with this bike while I was growing up. We used it all the time and my younger brother and I even delivered newspapers on it. When my dad moved west, I inherited the bike.
When I took possession of it, it was rusted and worn out. It needed a lot of work. Some of the parts needed to be replaced. It is a Columbia bicycle and that company has not manufactured this model for a long time. I had to special order some parts. They were expensive and hard to find. I bought new seats, wheels, tires, chains, handle bars, goose necks and then gave it a wonderful new paint job. It looked awesome
We rode it once and then I put it in the shed. I had spent so much time making it look so pretty that I did not want to mess it up. Every time the kids wanted to ride it I told them no. It has been in our shed for over ten years now. I looked at it the other day and the tires and seats have rotted again. The bike is rusted and it now needs a lot of work again to return it to its original glory. What good is it? How much fun will it be now to ride?
Rule # 6 tells me to get that bike out, get it fixed and let them ride it so much that it will need to be fixed again. It will never be worth anything to me, if I don’t do that. My kids are all growing up and if I don’t get it fixed soon, they will miss the chance to enjoy it. They will not love it like I do, because they will never have had the experience of riding it like I did. When I am ready to pass it down to them, they won’t want it. I need to quit worrying about how beautiful it looks and start remembering how fun it is to ride.
Life Is Good!
There are a lot of people that I work with, who, like me, need to remember and apply this rule. They work so hard that they often forget why they are working. They say they are doing it so that they can provide a good life for their families. It seems odd that the very thing that is supposed to provide the good life often interferes with their ability to enjoy it. What good is it to provide the good life if we cannot enjoy it?
This is your reminder to smile and to have fun. When was the last time you did that? If it has been longer than a day, then too much time has passed.
Is your bike in the shed? Are you saving something really great for someday? Are you spending so much time on serious matters that you forgot how to have fun?
A friend of our son was over the other day. We were dancing around and singing to the Jonas Brother’s song, That’s Just The Way That We Roll. Stacy and I were both acting a little silly with the kids. All of sudden she said, you guys have fun at your house. I wish my parents would do this with my family. What would your son or daughter say if they came to our house? What would you want them to say?
Jump around with them, play with them, have some fun. It won’t hurt and they will love it. If it has been a while, they may think something is wrong with you, but that will make it even funner.
Yes, I said funner. Now go out and make some fun.
Live Today! Love Today!
