The Other Side of Fun

"If it’s not fun, I'm not going to do it!"
"I really didn’t get anything from it, but at least I had fun".

These are some of the statements we say about doing something. Fun is defined as “a source of enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure." We also associate playful (boisterous) actions and speech as being fun, when it makes us feel good.

Fun has its place but should be treated as dessert and not the main course. It should not be our number one objective in life. Life has much more meaningful purposeful things for us that we should address before going after the fun ones.

3 Fun Clarifiers

F – Fruit - Fun should be the product (fruit) of hard work. When we go to school our objective should be to master the material and better our skills and increase our knowledge. When going to work our purpose should be to accomplish the objectives of the job that are before us. In each setting we should focus on the tasks to be achieve first. Then, if fun is experienced in the process, great! But it should not be our primary goal.

This week work to direct your attention "beyond the fun" by producing fruit that's worth picking. Keep fun as a reward for your hard work. Then the fun will be worth more.

U – Understanding - Having fun doesn't mean it's the best thing for us to do. We should look to gain and understanding of fun. Ask ourselves: What's the real meaning of this fun event? How will this activity better us? What will tomorrow benefit from our engaging in fun? Understanding what and why we are having fun is key to staying on track to meet our goals. If we do what's fun before what's needed to be done we can miss the opportunity to succeed.

Think about the possible consequences before you engage in having fun. Remember that, trouble will always take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay. That can be a lot for a moment of fun that gets you in trouble. Gain a good understanding before engaging in fun.

 N – Nurture - What we feed the most will be the driving force in our lives. When our objectives are to only have fun, we can find that an unhealthy balance will produce unhealthy living. Just like our physical lives needs a healthy balance between nutritious food and junk food, our moral lives need a balanced between serious focused work and fun party times. We should work to nurture our goals of success. This will help us be health for productive tomorrows.

David Viscott said, “The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away.” As you nurture your purpose don't get it off balanced with too much fun that is unhealthy for your future.

Go work to put fun in its proper place in your life by checking your fruit, gaining an understanding and nurturing your purpose. Today be better than who you were yesterday!

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