TOO MUCH FUN IS JUST BARELY ENOUGH (PART 1)
Too much fun?!
Hey all you hard-working, goal-oriented, schedule-filled people! All of you who give and give of yourselves around the clock.
I’ve got some good news for you:
You need to be having more fun.
That may sound strange when you live in a pleasure-oriented culture, where it can appear that too many people over-value having a good time. But those of you who are super-committed to the work you do— you who are diligent, determined, and driven—run the risk of pushing yourselves too hard for too long, depleting your inner resources. You need the dopamine, endorphins, and other brain chemicals that are released when you are having fun in order to restore your inner reserves. Then you can do your best work.
I’ve learned this the hard way (several times) by pushing and pushing, over-working, and ending up burned out or with physical problems.
That’s why my husband, John, and I love the phrase “Too much fun is just barely enough.” It reminds us to keep carving out time for enjoyment in our lives and thereby being refreshed. We are both so committed to our work that we can forget to “come up for air.”
We made a short video about exactly that.
So, as I said in the video, Part 2 will offer you a lot of ideas for this fun-loving pursuit. Getting stuck in a routine of the same activities over and over can diminish your enjoyment. Just having something new and fresh to do, having a change, can increase your fun quotient.
In the meantime, what fun thing will you do this week to replenish your reservoir so you can overflow for good?