Have Fun!!

I wake up every morning believing today is going to be better than yesterday – Will Smith

In life we have to look out for the fun moments and make sure we don’t pass them up. Especially, right now with all the bad going on around us. You can choose to get caught up in the stress of it all, or you can choose to move forward. Turn off the news, put down your phone, stop listening to all the noise of ulterior motives to sway you one way or the next and start doing all of the things that you said you were going to do. Start doing things you didn’t know you could do. Compete, have fun, try something new that you always wanted to.

I remember a time not that far back when I wasn’t having fun. I hated going into work, I didn’t want to put up with the toxic nature that it had become. Unfortunately, I didn’t win the lottery and had to continue going to work in that toxic environment. Sure I looked not bad on the surface, good enough to get by without raising any flags I suppose. But I was wound tighter than a tourniquet. I will never forget those few years of my adult working life, they were the worst years I have ever had to endure in my career. But I did endure them.

I will never forget how worried I made my loved ones during this time, for that I am sorry. But, as selfish as it may be, it shook me as well. It made me realize I was worrying life away, stressing about everything that didn’t need my attention, and taking away from what my attention should have been on. It shook me to the path of having fun and doing new things.

So I started doing things to have fun, focused my energy on making myself better. Because in all honesty at the end of the day however shitty work was, it was my fault. It wasn’t my fault for the toxicity. But it was my fault for allowing it to bring me down as far as it did. I bought an airbrush and started painting helmets, still learning but making progress after every one that I do. It is fun though, starting from nothing and putting your creative ideas onto a canvas. I always look forward to the end results.

Then I was debating on starting a podcast but with working in a remote camp, I wouldn’t have had the capabilities to do it productively. So, now, here I am starting something new again. Something a little quieter to do during the early mornings home, while everyone else is still asleep.

I always start my sons hockey games and practices off the same way on the way to the rink, I ask him 5 questions, one of them being “What is the most important part about hockey?” His response “Having Fun!!! (I can’t let you in on the other 4 questions, my son and I made a secret pact when he was 4 not to share them.) I love our little pre game ritual. Its fun for us both, it focuses him, and he always remembers to have a good time out there. He loves to win and he gets disappointed when they lose, yes even if you don’t keep score they know who has won and lost. But such is life, when you grow older you might not get that job you wanted or get approved for that car loan to your sick new ride, or get to make it to a wicked concert or vacation with friends; because you are working to get approval for that sick new ride, haha. You will be disappointed, you need to learn that. Getting rewarded just for showing up does not happen, but we have to understand that, we have to understand that teaching our young ones that unearned gratification is not going to work out well for them in the future. Participation is great and is needed, for sure. But so is competition, winning and losing. You don’t get rewarded in life just for showing up.

But you can lose and have fun at the same time, haven’t you played laser tag, or horseshoes, or beach volleyball on vacation? How about watching Dude Perfect and seeing those guys make, which seem impossible, trick shots. How about when they have a competition against each other, anything from slip and slide target shooting with toy guns to who can build the highest flying rocket. They try and sometimes fail, there is a winner and four losers, but they all have a great time doing whatever it is they are doing, when competing with each other. You can see they are all buddies that have a great time together, and have that competitive spirit and push each other to do better. Keep up the great work @DudePerfect

Here’s a link to one of their segments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8yZsa6wFEw

There is a time of course for true competition, playing anything competitively requires that true inner fire. That inner will telling you to push harder, go further, reach higher. Ask any professional athlete, they had to push harder then the next, be stronger then the next, be better then the next. But also ask those professionals when the most fun in there lives has been. Especially those that have been on winning teams.

You can find fun following whichever path, the participation path is one for those who don’t wish to pursue anything further then learning an enjoyable new past time, and that is great. However mellow or intense you make it is up to you and I do believe some can become competitive through participation. But I don’t think we have to take out the fun for the competitive kids who have fun pushing themselves, in being part of a team of like minded kids, by building structures and systems to become better. That is what some kids want. I know I did. I loved being part of a team whether it be hockey, fastball, slo-pitch, whatever, and now this many years later I still have fun doing it all.

DMKK