I'm in a hurry to get things done--why not make it fun?

I learn valuable lessons nearly every day, and yesterday was no different. As I spent hours upon hours raking leaves in my yard I was focused on the task at hand. Working ferociously I raced my internal clock to get the job done as fast as I could. As I worked I had a few options, I could race through the task, I could have my son play something outside nearby me, I could have him help me, or I could make it a game for him—risking that his playing would only lengthen my work as kicking around the leaves only leaves more to clean up. After a little hesitation I decided to make it a game for him, blowing the massive amounts of leaves into piles that he could trounce through, eventually making a gigantic leaf race track. What seems like it should have been an easy decision wasn’t. I love my son more than life itself and seeing him happy is the greatest joy in life, but there are times in life that I get so focused on the task at hand that I forget to have fun and enjoy the work. After seeing the joy he had jumping in the leaves, it reminded me that my definition of success, is often too narrowly focused. Success shouldn’t have been simply about completing the task in a hurried fashion (in a set amount of time), it should have been about spending quality time with my son, making memories, bonding, and having fun while raking.

As a career achiever and someone who has always prided themselves on getting things done, my bias is to choose the option that appears most effective and efficient, the one that is generally void of obvious fun (sad, I know). My bias often leads me to believe that having fun is ineffective, when in reality there are many ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness while having fun. Raking leafs while having fun with my son was extremely effective if you measure it by the fact that we bonded, we spent hours making memories, we got hours of fresh air, we played, he used his creative skills, and we got the job done in a good amount of time. The lesson I learned yesterday can be applied to business. How many times have we chosen the “get it done” approach rather than the fun and creative way to solve the problem? How many times have we avoided an opportunity to include others, to learn from one another, and to do some team building? More often than I’d like to admit in my case.

While my example might not resonate with everyone, I am certain that we can all find areas in life where we have defined success too narrowly and if we just changed our perspective, we might be able to change our approach to be more inclusive, to have some fun, and enjoy the journey more along the way. Life isn’t about being in a hurry, it’s about making the most of it. Broaden your view of success and you’ll find your options for success broaden as well. Feel free to share a time when you defined success too narrowly, only to realize success was something different in the end. How did it change your approach, and possibly your life?