Last month, I attended a program with Michael Neill wherein he challenged eight of us to express ourselves in ways we hadn’t before (or, at least, I hadn’t expressed before).
So, we were challenged to write, talk, make podcasts, and engage some other ways of expression.
One day, he asked us to write a poem about something we had written the morning earlier. And later we had to read it in front of the group.
Probably the last time I wrote a poem (if I ever have) was in elementary school, and I’d certainly never written a poem in English, as it’s not my first language.
Normally, I would have taken this assignment very seriously. I would have been tense, worried about how I was going to do it, terrified about the fact that I had to read it in front of an audience.
But none of that happened. I don’t know if it was because of the relaxed atmosphere we had created the previous days or because the fact that someone asks me to write a poem in English sounded so ridiculous to me that I didn’t have any expectations about my performance. Maybe it was both.
The case is that I had a lot of fun writing my poem and I was looking forward to sharing it with the group, the complete opposite of how I usually act.
After reading my poem, Michael asked me how I felt while I was writing it. I responded that I had a lot of fun. I felt relaxed, curious, playful, and excited.
Then he told me: “Ok. Like that, all the time.”
Those simple words have been resonating inside of me ever since. I try to have fun in everything I do, and it’s been working great.
I’ve realized how important it is to utilize fun as the main motor when starting a project as well as to keep you going.
It’s the most important thing for me right now.
More important than doing it right.
More important than doing it efficiently.
More important than doing it thoroughly.
And I’m not saying that those things are not important. They are. But if you don’t have fun with what you’re doing, you may not ever do it, and the quality of your work will suffer.
Fun should be at the top of your priorities, followed by the rest, if you can.
Have fun and then, if you can, do it right, efficiently, and thoroughly.
Just with that priority in mind (and only that one), I’m finding myself much more productive, creative, excited, and motivated. And, of course, I’m enjoying what I do much more.
Do you want to give it a try? The next project you have to do, just focus on having fun doing it. You’ll be surprised.