Someone recently said to me: “You are such a child. You are only interested in having fun.”
In this instance, it was definitely meant to be a criticism and I knew that. However, I decided it was actually a very nice compliment.
In fact, I spend a lot of time and exert a lot of effort trying to make things more fun than they usually are. You need a specific mindset.
Childlike is different from childish, although both may apply to me.
I understand there is a time for work and a time for play. I’m not sure if the right percentage is 80/20 or 50/50, but to me the right amount of fun is as much as you can have.
Don’t we all have plenty of reminders on a daily basis of problems, trauma, sadness, and despair? Nobody is immune. Everyone handles it differently.
Oct. 10 was world Mental Health Day with the theme of “make mental health for all a global priority.”
I guess having one specific day is good for awareness, but honestly we should all be concerned with mental health every single day.
Given the stress of the last couple of years with the pandemic, I think many more people have experienced feelings of fear and isolation than ever before.
We were all given a bit of a wake-up call regarding priorities.
Work-life balance has become ever more important with a lot of people still working from home. Always being one ping or beep away from an incoming call, email or Zoom meeting makes it almost impossible to really shut down — ever. You may be like me in that even when you try to disconnect you are thinking of what you might be missing on social media.
Curiosity can be both a blessing and a curse. That’s why my way of dealing with things is have inject a little fun into every activity.
It can be super simple. Enjoy a coffee break, send funny memes to your friends, pet the cat, take a timeout for a midday sitcom or break up the workday with a craft hour.
Just look around you. It doesn’t often appear folks are having much fun. If they are, they should definitely notify their face.
Commuters on the highway are literally scowling. Why not crank up your favourite tunes and sing? Listen to an audio book.
If you have to sit and wait in an office, why not chat if it seems appropriate? I understand not everyone wants to be social, so gauge your audience.
I remember being told once, by a relative, that I seemed to be having too much fun at work. It was quite literally my job to have fun as a radio personality. If you think it's not exhausting to always appear to be in a positive frame of mind, then you have never worked with the public.
Let’s face it, nobody feels good all the time. It has been my experience that time goes by whether you are enjoying it or not.
I realize mental health is way more complicated than just keeping a good outlook. It may require medications, therapy or other treatments.
I am not trying to minimize the feelings of anyone who suffers with depression, bipolar disorder or similar issue.
But for the purpose of this article, I am just suggesting a little levity can go a long way.
People will always want to tell you be more serious, more sensible… more adult.
Don’t do it. It’s a trap!
In the words of American game designer Bernie De Koven: “A playful path is the shortest road to happiness.”
