Never underestimate the power of having FUN!

Alright. So you are the man, a badass, one who is successful and all that jazz! Very well, and not to mention I am so very proud of you. Or maybe you are still getting there, working on yourself (like all of us are) and looking forward to achieving that dream that you live for.

Well, today we will talk about what is probably the most important lesson in life. The secret ingredient that makes life worth living. And makes your dream come running to you. The gist of life – f.u.n – FUN!!

You see, you have everything you ever wanted, and are on your way to achieving even more,  but one question that you still want to ask yourself and have an honest answer to is: ARE YOU HAVING FUN?

If there’s one cardinal rule of life that is untouchable, that has no moral ethical dilemmas around it, and that sums up one’s life of earth, it is that you GOT TO HAVE FUN AT ALL TIMES. 

Be it at work, be it in your personal life, be it out travelling, or meeting friends, always ask yourself  ‘Am I having fun’ and if you are not, it’s time to change something.

Let’s go a bit deeper. Why is this question the most important one ever asked?

For 2 reasons, mainly.

Reason#1: Fun is the basis of our existence. 

Do you believe that God or the higher power that created us intended us to lead a miserable life, constantly stressed out at work, suffering from headaches all the time, and fighting with our partners on a daily basis? Looking at all the beauty that abounds in nature, all the fun activities we have access to, the amazing experiences that beckon us, such as delicious food, travel, sports, adventure, sex, there’s no doubt as to what the answer is. And the answer is Hell No! God (or nature, for the non-believers) didn’t want us to be chronically stressed out and miserable. 

He wants us to be happy. All. The. Time.

It’s not hard to decipher that happiness is our natural state. That’s the state humans like to be in. That’s how our ancestors lived. That’s when we are at our productive best. That’s how we have been able to come up with so many festivals, multitude of fun activities, music, cool gadgets, groundbreaking inventions. That’s why we enjoy a hearty laugh. That’s why we like to dance. Or read a book. That’s how we invented jokes. 

You’d have to agree that people don’t enjoy sadness as much as happiness. That we have piled on misery on a lot of people in the form of wars, under development, poverty is a different matter, and even the oppressed, suffering people won’t say no to a chance of having fun, coz it provides them a moment of happiness, a respite from all the misery they are being subjected to, and enjoy the bliss that they were supposed to be in all the time.

So, having fun is important because it’s our natural state of being.

Reason #2: Having fun ensures that you excel at your work.

Be it your business or your job, you are at your optimum best when you are having fun. Your performance seems to peak when you are enjoying what you are doing. You don’t seem to mind the time spent doing an activity you are having fun at and you tend to have limitless energy when you are at it (in fact it looks as if you are getting recharged instead of draining your batteries when you do something you enjoy).

Look at the the most successful people of all time in any field. They all love what they do and have fun all the time. Be it Roger Federer, or Messi, Bill Gates, or Richard Branson, or Beyonce, they absolutely enjoy doing what they do, and the joy is clearly visible on their faces. And they have been doing it long before they became rich and famous, simply because they were having fun. Success and money just followed (which is why having fun is important: it makes you successful).

Most of us spend majority of our day in office. So, it’s mighty important that we have a good time while we are there. That’s the advice my ex-boss gave all of us before he moved to a new country after getting promoted. And boy, he knew how to have fun. And that’s how he kicked ass at work too.

So, either find elements in your job that you enjoy or find a new job, but work only because you derive joy out of it, and you will be so good at what you do, that you will smash all performance records, and make it a memorable career, one full of success, recognition, and money.

“Remember: money, success and happiness always follow people who have fun.”

Now that you are convinced that having fun is our natural state of being, and is the easiest way to lasting success and a happy life, let’s move along and address a couple of things, so that you can lead a blissful life without any guilt.

# 1: Don’t feel guilty about having fun.  Period.

You may be one of those good souls that is concerned about the other not-so-fortunate people in the world. The ones stricken by poverty, ravaged by wars, oppressed by their governments. I feel your desire to want to help them as well as the helplessness that comes if you are not in a position to do so. More importantly, I understand the moral dilemma that confronts you, which is asking you that how can you be happy and be busy having fun when so many others can’t. And I want you to help these people to the extent possible. But you got to help yourself first.

So let’s clear this dilemma once and for all. NEVER FEEL GUILTY ABOUT HAVING FUN. Why? For one simple reason: you not having fun will not improve the less fortunate lives around you in any way. It will only make you one of the them – with the only difference being that they did not have a choice (if given a chance they’d love to do things that are fun) and you did. For what? It didn’t change anything in their life.

 You can’t help the poor by becoming poor yourself or treat the depressed ones by going into depression yourself (which you will if you stopped enjoying life). 

In fact, the opposite of this is true. Ensuring that you enjoy life to the maximum can actually put you in a position to help uplift the downtrodden (if you wish to, since there’s no obligation to do that either…your only obligation is to lead a good life, have fun without harming others, more on this here).

As we discussed earlier, having fun makes you better at what you do & hence eventually more successful, which means higher likelihood of finding yourself in a position to help the needy! Cool, isn’t it?

If I was sick and gloomy, I’d pick a cheerful nurse any day over a sullen one. There’s a much better chance that she will cure the patients better. A sick doctor is of no use. A poor man is of no use. A motivated man is. So never let your own conscience or another human make you feel guilty about having fun. Coz you are doing it for yourself, and in turn for the world.

Magic Formula: Fun (without guilt) = Success = Better chance of helping others.

# 2: You define your fun.

Let’s be very clear. Nobody gets to decide your fun for you. You alone can decide what you enjoy and what you don’t. Simply stated, fun is any activity or non-activity that you enjoy doing.

For some it may be reading a book, for others it may be catching up with friends, for a third one, it may be lying around on their comfy couch doing nothing. Yet another person may enjoy losing himself in his work while someone may derive her bliss from spending time with kids at an orphanage. Your choice.

Never let anybody pass on a judgment on whether or not things you do sound fun, as long as you feel happier after you do them. Focus on eliminating things you don’t enjoy doing and people you don’t enjoy interacting with from your life and slowly you will have a life filled with fun stuff all the time.

And as we talked about earlier, 

Having fun will turn you into a real badass. A magnet that will attarct the right people and the right events in life without any effort. Every day that you spend being happy is a day that becomes a part of the dream life you want for yourself, and it takes you closer to your desires.

So go ahead, sing your heart out, bust some dance moves, play in the snow, spend time with kids, feed a dog, stick that tongue out, get wet in the rain, tell some shit jokes, try the handstand, help a poor, go hiking, do one of the million things that you love but keep having fun. And watch yourself living your dream.

Remember – when in doubt, ask yourself – Am I having fun? proceed if you are. Change things if you are not. Watch your life change. Come back and give me a thumbs up.

Until Next Time.

-Wowlifer.