Taking Fun Seriously

Why don’t we take fun more seriously? Can personal development and life be more fun?

This topic came out from the two interesting conversations that I had last week, one with a coaching colleague, another one with a client, hight potential female leader. 

What came out was that we take everything seriously, often too seriously. I have nothing against being logical, responsible and a matter of fact. There are surely situations that call for seriousness, rolling-up-your-sleeves and a stern look at your face.

Bringing more fun and joy into our lives could be one of them. It might be time, to take fun and joy seriously, very very seriously. Because it feels like there is a sever deficiency of child-like fun and a heart-felt joy. The last two become endangered spies in our emotional gardens, it feels like fear and anxiety took over the gardens of our hearts… Narrowing the whole purpose of our existence to a sheer survival of a next crisis, of inflation, of the puberty of your kids, midlife crisis, of your job until the retirement…

I would like to encourage all of us (who isn’t a natural in enjoying life and co-creating with it) to take fun seriously and become very diligent about incorporating a good dose of fun (ok, at the beginning a homeopathic doses will do) into your professional and personal life starting this spring.  There is nothing more important for our well being, success and happiness than being able to shift gears and tune into fun, joy and creativity of our lives. 

Just try it. It most probably will be quite hard, scary and nervwrecking if you are not used to it. A tons of to-dos will come up, what others will think, I don’t have time… Fun requires courage, letting go out control, being playful and completely present. So having fun isn’t for the fainted of hearts nowadays. Having fun is a serious task that will pay off. 

It will pay off with more creativity, insights, efficiency, energy, joy, increased resilience, better relationships and even improved leadership skills (just think about a leader whom you admire…) and most importantly with a very precious feeling of being truly alive.

What is your way to be silly, to do nonsense and to tickle some serious laughter out of your (Buddha) belly? 

And by the way having fun, is a great way to turn into your intuition and creativity. So I am off to following my own advice and it’s scary as s… for a (slowly) recovering control freak. Truly yours.