Work Can Be Fun
In October I wrote about Work Life Amalgamation. I was thrilled to receive notes from so many people talking about how much this posting resonated with them. It is so exciting to see the changes which are now occurring around us. We are moving into a new economy where we recognize our work provides money for survival but that we no longer have to survive our work.
When I was five years old, my mother told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. – John Lennon
So the question now is how will you define your work? To do this, we need to look at both our life and our work. What is working for us? What is not? What would we like our life and business to look like? Of what will it consist?
Having fun is not a diversion from a successful life; it is the pathway to it. – Martha Beck
Hopefully as a business owner you review and revise your business plan every January, but I would like to challenge you to also review and revise your life plan. Look at all areas of your life: Relationships, Physical Environment, Health, Religion-Spirituality, Recreation, Business-Career, Finances, and Personal Growth. Where are you now and where would you like to be? Are all areas of your life supporting each other or are they in conflict? What needs to be adjusted first for the largest affect? How can you create your business to reflect your personal goals and interests as well?
The master in the art of being makes little distinction
between his work and his play,
his labor and his leisure,
his mind and his body,
his information and his recreation,
his love and his religion.
He hardly knows which is which.
He simply pursues his vision of
excellence at whatever he does
leaving others to decide whether
he is working or playing.
To him he is always doing both. – James Michener
Take some time this month to outline your life and your business, your work and your play. Ensure that your business plan fits easily into your life plan. Write down what needs to be in place to make your business and life exactly how you would like it. Put this list somewhere you will see it every day and read the list not with the longing of what could be but with the trust that it is possible right now.
Wishing you a most wonderful 2011 filled with happiness, joy, good health, and much success!
