If you are willing to give up a few of your stubborn notions through the art of compromise, then you make room for new thoughts and different perspectives to emerge and become part of your palette. A fresh outlook may completely change the scope of your reality and take you places you couldn’t imagine when you were stuck in your black-and-white world.
Your assignment today is to remove a few of your preconceived notions and make room for new ideas. Be willing to compromise when the opportunity presents itself. Try something new. Dabble in colors you haven’t used before, and find out what you’ve been missing.
DAY
311
“Time is fun when you are having flies.”
— Kermit the Frog
What do you do for fun? Kermit likes flies, but he’s a frog. What makes you happy? Have you taken time out recently to do some of the things that make you smile? Taking time off for fun is not a luxury. It’s mandatory if you want to achieve your dreams. Your dream for success is probably filled with happiness. So it doesn’t make sense that the road to success should be filled with drudgery. You have to experience a little levity along the route if happiness is your goal.
There is no truth to the myth that you have to work like crazy and have no fun in order to reach the upper levels of success. You need to balance hard work with joyful play. So what’s it going to be today? A hike in the woods? Ice cream? Playing basketball? A road trip? A game with your five-year-old nephew? Schedule your fun time with equal reverence as the time you set aside for work. It is no less important. Do something that makes you really happy today.
Make a list in your journal of all the things you can think of that would be fun to do at this very moment. Don’t limit yourself to affordability, time, or location. Let your mind enjoy the exercise. Come back to this list often and add to it whenever you are feeling weighed down by your work responsibilities. Make sure you do some of the things on that list. The assignment isn’t over until you’ve given a few of those ideas a whirl. Take time to have your flies. Life is too short to save up all of the fun for the final chapters.
DAY
312
“If it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right.”
— Bob Basso
You have studied the importance of fun in your life throughout this book. There is a reason for that. Nobody wants to spend their days toiling away. That is no way to achieve your dreams. We all need a little softness and light to balance out the hard stuff.
Spend some time today going back through your dreams for success. You have written about them a number of times in your journal. What do those dreams look like to you? Are they full of misery and pain? That is highly doubtful. Dreams are happy, fun, joyful, and hopeful. If for some reason your dreams are not full of fun, then you’re not doing this right. Throw away your journal, and start over at Day 1.
What do you really want?
Most of us just want to be happy when we get to the core of our dreams. You can obtain some happiness today—right now if you want. Just do something fun. This does not have to mean quitting your job and spending your life savings on a trip to Disney World.
Stop your chores for five minutes and play with the family pet. Read a funny story on the Internet. Listen to your favorite music. Look at a piece of artwork that fills your heart. None of those things cost money, and they all invite a little fun into your life. That fun is like getting an infusion of energy, and you will be better equipped to go back to the tasks you want to complete today. Life should be fun every day. If it’s not, you have no one to blame but yourself. You control the joy you let into your life. If it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right.
DAY
313
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun at what they are doing.”
— Dale Carnegie
Lee absolutely hated his life. He hated his job, he hated his car, he hated his house, and he wasn’t that fond of his dog, either. He was a brilliant engineer specializing in robotics, and he had used his talents to rocket to a pretty lofty height in his profession. Now he found himself as an upper level manager. He was no longer building robots. Instead, his job was to tell other people what they were doing wrong when they built robots—at least that’s how he saw his job.
He was outwardly successful, but Lee was not having any fun. He liked building robots, and his job no longer required that skill. He liked people, but he spent most of his day on the computer in his spacious office and his evenings in a big, empty house out in the suburbs. He liked dogs. His best buddy growing up was a mutt his parents rescued from the local shelter. But a former girlfriend got him a purebred something-or-other, and it was high maintenance and no fun at all.
Lee was not a success. He made a lot of money, and he owned a few things that gave him the appearance of being a successful person. However, Lee didn’t have fun in any aspect of his life. He had not yet achieved his dreams.
DAY
314
“A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world we cannot enter in any other way.”
— Caroline Gordon
You’ve had a chance to consider some of the ways in which you can incorporate fun into your life, and you have your own list of activities from which to choose. The quote above suggests a cheap form of entertainment that may not have made it to your list yet. It is a magical opportunity for fun that is often underrated: reading.
You may not have the cash or the vacation days available to take a trip to Spain or France, but you can pick up a copy of The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway and fly away to the bullfights and festivals without leaving your living room.
Reading is fun, it’s a form of entertainment, and it is also a very easy way to get your creative juices flowing. When you read, you transport yourself into a world that the author suggests and you inhabit through your own imagination and life experiences. The words have the power to transform you. Reading is a great way to spark new and innovative ideas, because it takes you out of your immediate surroundings. The altered perspective works like a kaleidoscope to change a picture you thought you knew into something fresh when seen through the creative eyes of the author.
What do you like to read? Do you prefer mysteries, romance novels, or history books? Maybe you enjoy short stories or magazine articles instead of full-length novels. There is an endless variety of reading material out there. Your assignment today is to take some time to read.
DAY
315
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”
— Katharine Hepburn