I was out with some friends for dinner last night. We were chatting about the joys and woes of work, parenting, being busy, having stuff to do and not enough time. We were also taking a rose-tinted look at the days when our children were younger and how life seemed a little less complicated then. We hit upon a realisation.
Whilst squeezing in all our responsibilities, we were squeezing out the fun. We just needed to remember to lighten up a little. Sometimes a lot.
So, whilst thinking about fun today, I have come across a fantastic video from a coach that I look up to, Michael Bungay Stanier. His books include ‘The Coaching Habit’ and ‘Do More Great Work’. His organisation have produced this fab short video on how to usher in more fun to our lives. You can watch it here but if you’d rather read a quick set of highlights, I’m summarising it below:
I love this one – it fits perfectly with my Strengths-based approach. Get to know who you are, invest in that person and be the best version of that person that you can be.
What do you really want? What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want to leave behind you? Get hungry for this, start doing what is truly important to you.
Think about a different way of doing things, how you’ve not done it before. Stop believing that you have limits or parameters that don’t exist.
Explore the edges. Think about the Outrageous. The Unthinkable. Set some Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals for 2018.
Yes! Ask yourself what you are fretting about: is it a life or death situation? In 10 years time will you remember what you are worrying about? This too will pass.
I’ve worked hard on this over the last year, there’s much more to do though! Deal with the memories, attitudes, habits and choices that are holding you back, getting in the way and getting you down.
I hope to return to this subject across 2018. Being busy is a seductive trap that keeps us from doing out best work….
Stop waiting for someone to give you permission to do what you want to do. Just go for it.
