The MONTHLY Motivator - March 2002

Have fun

Have fun. Laugh out loud. Figure out what you enjoy the most and do it. Figure out how to put more fun into every activity and do it. Do it often. Do it with great pleasure and no guilt or regrets or unrealistic expectations. Just have fun, as genuinely and as often as you can. Find new and different ways to have a good time. It is perfectly OK to have fun. In fact it is better than OK. It is great, and uplifting, and empowering. It is inspiring. It can keep you healthier. It can make you wealthier. It can improve your relationships and instantly raise the quality of your life.

Rather than looking for reasons to complain, look for reasons to laugh. When you can’t think of anything to do, try smiling. A smile can quickly take you from negative or neutral to positive and productive.

Why do you think there are things you enjoy? Do you think these things are set up to punish you or to frustrate you? Of course not. Fun and enjoyment are wonderful, blissful ways of encouraging you. Think of how great you feel when you’re involved in something you truly, genuinely enjoy. Go ahead, think about it and conjure up those feelings. And by the way, just thinking about having fun is enjoyable itself, isn’t it? It brings a smile to your face and a lightness to your heart. So by all means, stop and think of yourself being deeply and happily involved in some activity or situation that is just plain fun for you. See yourself in that situation and feel the feeling of how great it is.

When you visualize that positive, fun experience, what else do you feel? Chances are, you feel confident. You feel effective. You feel enthusiastic. You feel energetic and optimistic. Wow! These are certainly powerful, positive feelings. Imagine what life would be like if, somehow, you could be more confident, more effective, more energetic and enthusiastic anytime you decided to be. Think of all the great things you could accomplish and all the fabulous places you could go.

The fact is, you can conjure up this powerful, positive state simply by having fun. You can become more confident by doing more of the things you truly enjoy. You can become more effective and enthusiastic by doing what you genuinely like to do.

Having fun can immediately add value and power to almost any activity. We often get the idea that having fun is somehow irresponsible, but it most certainly does not have to be that way. The truth is that when you’re genuinely enjoying yourself you’re probably acting at just about the highest level of responsibility possible, because you’re being responsible to the best that is within you. Irresponsible fun -- having fun at the expense of others -- is not really having fun. It’s just a poor substitute that’s often used by people who lack the courage or the imagination to truly enjoy themselves. You don’t need to be irresponsible to have fun. You don’t need to take advantage of others to have fun. All that’s necessary for having fun is just allowing yourself to enjoy whatever you’re doing. It’s really as simple, and as powerful, as that.

Have you ever noticed that people who are really good at what they do make it look fun? The reason they make it look fun is because, to them, it is fun, whether it’s running a copying machine, installing a water pump, giving a sales presentation, playing basketball, performing surgery or teaching a classroom full of eight-year-olds. Those who do a great job are those who genuinely enjoy the job they’re doing. Those who excel are those who have fun.

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--Ralph Marston

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