The idea that "work is called work for a reason" and that "work isn't meant to be fun" is so deeply entrenched in our collective cultural psyche that it actually ends up being a big roadblock for many when they look at pursuing their passions.
It is also, of course, complete nonsense. The only thing that committing to a life of work as a four letter word will do will be to slowly, bit by bit, drain away both your energy and your productivity. A career filled with fun and meaning, on the other hand, can unleash the amazing potential we all have.
Over on Bernie DeKoven's FunLog, Bernie points to a quote from an article called "Play and freedom to design" by Augusto Grillo. The article is talking about design, but the idea can be applied to just about anything.
It is play that sparks creativity, creating contexts in which freedom, gratuitousness and passion produce their fecundating action. [Running that through the translate-o-matic, that really means, "Having fun opens the door for amazing possibilities."]
Play fascinates and absorbs to the point of making us infinitely repeat our attempts to improve our performance, to create new paths, new ways to arrive, in our case, to the ‘right’ product, the most suitable solutions.
I love that last paragraph. A feeling of play not only engages us, it also distracts us from the need for perfection as we develop something new. That in turn in paves the way for more creative approaches, which exponentially expands the scope of what is possible.
Yup. Play is a good thing.
Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst SM
http://nevertoolatetobegin.blogspot.com/
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