Imagine you are 7 years old again…

You have no care in the world.

You go to school, play games, run around outside, build forts, and play make-believe.

Regardless of what you are doing, your overarching goal is to have fun.

You could be at the dentist's office, waiting in the lobby to get your teeth cleaned, for many of us this is deadtime and potentially a dreadful experience of anticipation.

But not for you, because you happen to have a Matchbox Car in your possession. You use the chair’s armrest as a ramp. You use your hands to guide it from one chair to the next, your imagination goes wild. You now have a full racecourse within your vicinity.

And then one day, this stops.

One day you just sit in the lobby and wait.

You might pick up a magazine or scroll through your emails. But you wait in stillness. Agitated and unimaginative.

So ask yourself, when did this change?

When did the fun stop?

When did the goal stop?

…

For argument sake, let’s just say you sleep 8 hours a night and are awake roughly 16 hours a day

Out of those 16 hours you are awake, how many of those hours (or minutes) are you having fun?

…

If you are like most of us, it’s likely not many.

Regardless of your age, the goal of life is to have fun. Period.

I know what you’re thinking and how silly this sounds.

Because you have responsibilities, obligations, work…

You have to wake up at 6 am, shower, make breakfast, drive to work, work at work, drive home, clean the house, pick up the kids, prepare dinner, workout, and then you finally get an hour of peace at night so you watch some TV – boom, instant fun.

What’s changed from then to now is not necessarily your responsibilities or workload. It’s your perspective. It’s your goal.

You can choose to have fun during all hours of the day.

You’re the one in control.

Read that again.

You’re the one in control.

Work sucks? Your fault.

Jiu Jitsu is too frustrating? Your fault.

Sick of cooking and cleaning? Your fault.

Angry while in traffic? Your fault.

Blast music and dance while you clean. Sing at the top of your lungs while you shower. Joke around while you work. Gamify difficult tasks and responsibilities. Use your imagination. Laugh at hardships. And be in awe of the mundane.

Life didn’t get any less fun, you just got less fun.

…

When assessing one’s life we often look at societal measures of success, ie. income, influence, expertise, power.

However, at the end of the day, that will all be gone.

Life is just one big game, and one big Shit Show and it seems to me that the person who has the most fun wins.

Own the Process,

Tim

Author of Mastery Monday

Student & Founder

Upcoming weeks:

[Gamification}

[Type I & Type II Fun]