Mr. Achievement - Stanley F. Bronstein - Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

Law #41

Position Yourself To Have Fun

While the work or play is on, it is a lot of fun if while you are doing one you don’t constantly feel that you ought to be doing the other. (Franklin Pierce Adams)

Some Definitions

While - Throughout the time that; as long as. At the same time that.

Work - Exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil. Something on which exertion or labor is expended; a task or undertaking. Productive or operative activity.

Play - Exercise or activity for amusement or recreation. Fun or jest, as opposed to seriousness.

On - Engaged in or involved with. Into or in active operation or performance.

Lot - A great many or a great deal.

Fun - Enjoyment or playfulness. Something that provides mirth or amusement.

Doing - Action; performance; execution.

One - Being or amounting to a single unit or individual or entire thing, item, or object rather than two or more. Being a particular, unique, or only individual, item, or unit.

Constantly - Unchanging, immutable, permanent. Perpetual, unremitting, uninterrupted. Steady, unwavering, unswerving.

Feel - To be or become conscious of. To be emotionally affected by. To experience the effects of.

Ought To Be - Used to express duty or moral obligation. Used to express justice, moral rightness, or the like. Used to express propriety, appropriateness, etc..

Other - Different or distinct from the one mentioned or implied. Being the remaining one of two or more.

Source: Dictionary.com

So Which Is It, Work Or Play ?

In today’s society, work is the word often used to describe activities that one does in order to produce income to pay for their existence.

If you work in a restaurant, you typically do so to make money for your food, clothing and shelter. If you work in an office, you typically do so in order to make money to pay for your food, clothing and shelter. If you work on a farm, you work for similar reasons, but your food may come directly from your farming efforts.

However, it doesn’t matter what the exact nature of your activities is, what matters is that you do said activity as a necessary part of paying for your existence.

Play, on the other hand, is the word often used to describe activities that one does for fun. Play activities are usually done outside the workplace and are things you typically do when you are NOT working.

I want to ask you a silly question, but first I want to give you another definition:

Mutually Exclusive - of or pertaining to a situation involving two or more events, possibilities, etc., in which the occurrence of one makes impossible the occurrence of the other.

Do work and play have to be mutually exclusive?

My Thoughts

My thoughts are that work and play do NOT have to be mutually exclusive.

In fact:

• the best kind of work to be doing is work that you find fun.

• the best kind of environment in which to work is one where everyone is encouraged to have fun.

All too many work environments these days do not encourage fun.  Everyone takes things too seriously.  Superiors often frown when subordinates are having what they perceive as “too much fun”.  This is something that has been changing over the past decade and is going to continue to change more in the future.

Companies that provide fun work environments are going to be more successful than those that don’t.  Why is that?

It’s because economic conditions are going to require workers to worker harder than ever before.  Employers are going to demand more out of their workers than ever before.  Clients are going to demand more than ever before.

If I’m correct and we’re all going to have to work harder, wouldn’t it be nice if we could turn some or all of our work into play ?

Examples From My Work Environment

In my office, my staff has always been encouraged to laugh daily.  Seriously, I can’t recall the last time we all didn’t laugh at least once (if not many more times) in any given day.  Life is simply too short to be serious all the time.

The Flip Side

One thing that subordinates need to remember, IF THEY ARE GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL, is to not take too much advantage of a good thing.  Just because an employer or a client encourages you to have fun, don’t go overboard.  Always be careful to keep things in proper perspective.  Bringing fun into the workplace doesn’t necessarily mean throwing parties every day.  Bringing fun into the workplace doesn’t mean you are excused from getting your work done, just because you thought it would be more fun to play a little.  It means we must strike a proper balance between the two.

One Of The Easiest Way To Bring Play Into The Workplace

Probably the easiest way to bring play into the workplace is to do work that you love.  If you love your work; if you truly enjoy it; it ceases to be work and it becomes play.  If you are fortunate enough (as I am) to work in an area (or areas) that you truly love, then you can combine the two and play at the same time you are working.

The Best Benefit Of Them All

If your work is play, you don’t mind working longer and harder than most.  If you work longer and harder than most, you will be more successful than most.  So, if you want to be successful, find the work that you love and then work longer and harder than everyone else.  You will definitely see the benefits.