The fun is gone. Or is it? If it is, where did it go? These questions often surface in my mind, waver for a moment, and then for some reason, I push the idea of fun into the time out corner of my brain. Fun is for kids. Not for adults or in a workplace. But why not? Because it wastes precious time and we need to get the work done. Even if we are miserable….Can this really be the answer or can we have fun while we work or take care of our kids? Is there a chance that we are just not noticing the nooks and crannies of fun that creeps into our day lurking behind the fog of ugh. What is fun anyway and what would that look like in a workplace? I dug deep into this nook of my brain and pulled out the fun folder and realized that if we don’t make time for fun or notice it, we are just not as happy. Isn’t it worth having fun in our lives in order to be happier? Here is what I found..
Fun can be anything and it often fits your personality type. If we look hard enough, fun is everywhere, even in our workplace.
Fun is…
Fun is that feeling of accomplishment but also the process if you notice the people who surrounded and supported you to get the job done.
Laughter during frustration.
Noticing the way people walk differently down the halls and finding the rhythm to their steps.
That deep breath after a long session of focus on work time, realizing that your lungs were holding in the oxygen for the entire time.
Jumping out and scaring your colleagues. Or a prank of another sort…
The cheery way the receptionist changes his/her voice when he/she answers the phone.
The isms and habitual sayings that your boss always reverts to when he or she is leading a meeting.
The crazy things that kids will say to get themselves out of trouble.
The amazing things that kids say when they are wondering.
The smell of the students as they come in from a hot or cold day.
The growl of a colleague’s stomach or your own during a long meeting.
A cup of coffee that goes cold unknowingly before you take a giant gulp.
Friendships that form across the halls or cubicles all because destiny put you in the same workplace at the same time. Incredible isn’t it!
The chaos of the halls during break time and the youthful energy that seems to rev up on Friday afternoon.
The groans that sound like giants moaning when someone has to do something that they really don’t want to do.
The quiet before the storm of another busy day to begin.
The awkward silence…
The wonderful silence…
The different personalities who clash and get riled up but then realize that they may have overreacted.
The kids, they are always the ingredient we need for fun. We should follow their lead more often.
Little kids trying to walk down a hallway while the teacher desperately tries to keep them in order and quiet.
The lunchroom when no one is watching is always fun. Maybe a little too much fun.
A substitute teacher day….
People reading books instead of scrolling.
Eye contact and a smile with someone who walks past you.
Closing your door for just a moment.
Color coded book cases.
All of your technology working without any glitches.
Someone who is not an expert in that specific subject trying to cover a class.
That feeling of finally getting that idea you have been waiting for.
The fun is there no matter where you work. You just have to look into the nooks and crannies and dust off the cobwebs to notice it. As author Neil Pasricha says in his books, You are Awesome and the Book of Awesome, so often than not we wait for the big moments but really they only make up less than 10% of our lives. It is the tiny moments that make up the rest so why aren’t we realizing how awesome they really are? “Maybe these small moments add up to a big deal at the end of the day.” (Quote by Neil Pasricha).
Even If You Miss..... 