Are
We Having Fun Yet?
by
Marie T. Russell
We've
all been brainwashed! We were all taught the work ethic!
"Work (and suffer) till you die, or if you're lucky
retire. We don't have time to waste on frivolities. We
have responsibilities to fulfill. We have to be serious,
work hard, rise in our career, make lots of money, and
make earning money and advancing in our career a
priority."
I wish
to change that programming in my life. I know that when
I do the things I enjoy doing, things work out better
for me. I know that when I do something against my will,
against my heart, it doesn't work out well. I know
that stressing myself out to try to get a job done
usually takes twice as long as taking time out and doing
that same task at some other time in a relaxed manner.
We can
change the criteria by which we decide what to do in our
lives. Instead of: "Will it bring in lots of money or
advance my career," we need to ask ourselves, "Will
I enjoy doing this? Will this be fun? Am I looking
forward to getting started on this?"
If you
can't answer "yes" to these questions, then quite
possibly this is not the task for you! If it is
something that must be done, i.e. taxes, dishes, etc.,
the solution is to find someone else to do them for you.
There are some people who will enjoy and love to do what
you prefer not to do. Really! For example, I am not the
world's best housekeeper. I do not really enjoy
cleaning, washing floors, windows, etc. Yet there are
some people who enjoy the meditative aspect of this work
and who really get satisfaction from a job well done. It
is to my benefit to pay someone to do this work so I can
take that time earning money doing things that I enjoy.
We are
all very different and different things appeal to each
one of us. Just because someone else enjoys a particular
thing does not mean that you must. We can trust what I
call the "fun index" to assist us in knowing if a
particular action is the one for us. We can break away
from the rule of thumb that judges things by whether
they bring money or career advancement. We can change
that to making our decisions based on whether an action
will bring us pleasure and personal satisfaction. Does
the work you do leave you feeling proud and pleased with
yourself? Are you following the voice of "shoulds"
or the one of "want to"?
Yet, the
programming is strong. I find myself struggling over a
task and it ends up dragging itself out. Have you
noticed that the things that you dislike doing are the
ones that seem to take forever to get done? As for the
opposite viewpoint, well as the saying goes "Time
flies when you're having fun!"
Learning
to go against that old programming and trusting the "fun
index" is an ongoing project. Every small step is, at
the same time, a big leap. Each step will move you away
from dissatisfaction with your life and closer to
self-love, self-acceptance, self-esteem and joy in your
everyday existence.
Anytime
you ignore that inner prompting, you accumulate
self-loathing and disappointment in your being. Your
inner child once again feels let down and unimportant.
Each let-down reinforces the inner child's belief that
everybody else's wishes are more important than its
own. Once again its desires are relegated to the lowest
priority on the list.
Yet, it's
YOUR life! Why let someone else dictate how you "should"
live it? Ask your Self what steps YOU want to take!
Listen to the voice within which will tell you what
would really make you feel fulfilled and satisfied. You
ARE the boss of your life! After all... it's yours isn't
it?
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