Coaching Corner: Are we having fun yet??
By "Coach" Marilou Butcher Roth
In typing this title, I am having the thought that I have typed that same title before. Could be, however, this topic deserves several rounds! Fun -- what a word! It brings up all kinds of thoughts, feelings and stories, doesn't it? Each of us has some sort of belief, or consistent thought, around fun. What is yours?
Children are like sponges and soak up whatever is around them. As children, we absorbed what beliefs our parents and/or significant people in our lives had around fun. So, part of this discussion is identifying our current belief and the other part is determining your own thoughts around the idea of fun.
I, not unlike many others I know, had the belief that fun could not happen until all of my work/chores were done. Fun was presented to me as somewhat of a reward system. Now my realization is that I can have fun with whatever activity I am choosing to engage in. Wow! What a difference. Let's notice the difference, using writing this blog post as an example. If I were under my old way of thinking, this would feel like drudgery, something to get done and check off of the list. With my new perception of the concept of fun, I find complete enjoyment in the process of writing. This difference evolved from identifying old beliefs and creating new ones.
Awareness is the key to this shift! One way to generate this shift is to notice the thought and/or response that occurs for you when you are presented with something fun to do during work hours. Or, you may want to do a fill in the blank... "Having fun is ________________, or I can create fun in my life when ________________. Even... My parents had fun when ________________.
Each of us have our own flavor of fun and beliefs surrounding it. Uncover what belief you are carrying around fun. Is that yours, or have you developed that belief over the years from your observations? What would you like your belief to be? Remember that a belief is merely something you consistently think about, so now it's up to you! My suggestion would be to do some journaling around this topic and see what comes up. You may generate a statement that identifies what you want fun to be for you. And, as always... have FUN with this exercise!!
