Did You Have Fun Today?
I probably ask my kids this question every single day, but when was the last time you asked an adult, “Did you have fun today?”
On vacation?
Maybe after a birthday or holiday?
But it’s not something that gets brought up very often … which is kind of sad … because it seems like being an adult has slowly evolved into this antithesis of fun where all we do is slave away at our jobs to put food on the table so that we’ll have enough energy to slave away at our jobs again tomorrow…
And I don’t think it has to be that way.
Of course, fun doesn’t necessarily have to include ball pits and pizza parties and hours a day spent playing with toy trains and race cars like our kids get to spend their time! It never hurts, but we adults can also find enjoyment in our lives in doing something for a living where we feel like we’re making a difference or taking on work that challenges us and requires us to learn new things in order to overcome them.
Granted, there a lot of jobs in our world that aren’t like that.
One of my favorite quotes from the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs talks about how he balanced those kinds of things in his own life…
For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself – ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something…
– Steve Jobs
Something that I’ve noticed is that as we grow older and become more established – buying houses, starting families, etc… – we tend to grow complacent with letting other people call the shots in our own lives. Even if they’re not doing so in our own best interests.
We settle for jobs that are unfulfilling or don’t treat us the best, yet pay the mortgage.
We drag out relationships that are emotionally draining, but keep us from being alone.
We accept this world that isn’t very much fun because, well, that’s just how adult life is.
But that doesn’t really give our kids much to look forward to … not to mention that we deserve a lot more out of life as adults, too.
If you want to talk about giving our children something to aspire towards, having the bravery to make changes in our lives seems like a pretty good start to me.
Maybe that means dusting off the old resume and seeing what’s out there, or signing up for an online dating service … and seeing what’s out there! 😉
It could mean dedicating time on your busy calendar to fall in love with an old hobby all over again, or discovering a new one altogether.
Being an adult is obviously more complicated than being a kid because we’ve got bills to pay and extra mouths to feed. It’s not all going to be fun and games, but if you find yourself realizing that none of it is fun anymore day after day after day, it’s time for a change.
Be brave and make that change.