I was chatting with a friend yesterday about her weekend. She said she’d had a blast, more fun and peace than she’d had in a long time. But the whole time she was enjoying her weekend, she had an undercurrent of anxiety. She said, “It was as if I was having too much fun and not enough … drudgery.”
It makes perfect sense.
We’ve come to a point, as a culture, where we’re so used to the grind that fun has become reserved for special occasions and weekends. It’s very logical: Working hard, earning money, paying bills, making a life for yourself … these are things that require effort. And effort often feels monumental, weighty, like a struggle. Having fun won’t pay our rent or provide for our lifestyle, so it’s got to take a back seat. Even when we’re allowed to be having fun (like on the weekends) the anxiety of not doing enough starts to creep in.
Doesn’t that seem a bit lunatic to you?
Do you really believe that God, the Universe, The Powers That Be, whoever, intended for life (this grand, beautiful thing) to be about drudgery? You really think their end game was for life to be about the grind, then the play?
No. There’s no way. We’ve done this to ourselves. We’ve taken the Puritanical value of hard work, equated it to drudgery, and decided that the only way to success = more drudge. And since fun doesn’t require hard work, it therefore cannot lead to our success.
If there’s one thing I want to do today, for you, it’s to help you realize that fun and hard work are not at odds with each other. Your body might not be able to handle eating a pound of cake every day, but luckily for you, your spirit can eat as much dessert as it wants. And fun is like cake for your soul — nourishing, delicious, necessary cake.
Doesn’t dessert for your soul sound better than more drudge?
You can work hard and have fun. In fact, it’s possible for work to feel fun. It’s completely, utterly, categorically possible for you to make a life for yourself while having fun. And if you’re not, or if you don’t believe it’s possible, it’s time for a little re-programming. It’s time to question why you believe you’ve got to drudge it out to be a success. Because honestly, having fun while being successful is what will happen when you discover your life purpose. And if you’re a little shaky on that front, then give us a call. It’s what we do.
Don’t drudge until you die, people. Eat some soul-cake and be happy.
Much Love,
Rachel & Kristen
