Having Fun is Vital for Balanced Business Success

“I’ve fallen out of love with my business. It’s not fun anymore.”

That’s what someone told me the other day when he came to see me.

Have you ever found yourself thinking that life used to be more fun than it is right now and wishing you could get those times back? Or maybe you think that fun is something you just get to do at the weekends?

Having fun is crucial for balanced business success

It can be tempting to throw ourselves and our people into activity that’s designed solely to grow the profits of a business. But if financial growth is all we focus on, rather than the whole wellbeing of the business, the business and its people will soon be out of balance leading to stress, exhaustion and burnout, people off sick, failure to deliver consistently to customers and a drastic drop in sales.

When we think about having fun, we often think this is something we’ll do at the weekend or when it’s time to go on holiday, or even something we used to do when we were children, but not now.

But what if we got to choose to have fun every day? Yes, it’s one of those choices things!

We can choose to wait to have fun (once we’ve achieved that target we talk about) … Or we could choose to have fun whenever we wish – and see what might happen.

Why it’s important to have fun at work

OK, stuff happens in life that can knock us back – we’ve definitely all been there.

When things aren’t fun anymore, it’s time to take a step back and ask yourself why so you can take inspired action to get back on track again.

What’s out of sync? Is it because you’re not attracting the right kind of customers for you? Cashflow problems? Too much to do, staff not aligned with the vision for the business?

Maybe it’s just a case of learning new skills or getting some help?

Fun at work is essential for balanced business success. A sense of fun helps people to have a more positive mindset, enjoy higher levels of personal wellbeing and better mental health.

Research has shown that happy people tend to be healthier, more inspired, productive and satisfied in their job.

Fun is an easy way to get better collaboration and communication across an organisation.

It’s easier and more enjoyable to collaborate with people you’re friendly with compared to working with people you regard as simply colleagues – or even enemies!

Do you want more fun in your business and in your life?

Why not choose to make FUN one of your core values.

There’s a little saying that “what’s fun gets done”. You know how it feels when you’re loving what you do so much that you just want to do more and more of it?

And there’s a fundamental truth that says that what we focus on we get more of. Have you ever had that time when you’re just thinking about someone and suddenly they call you? Or you get a new car and suddenly you see your car everywhere?

When you put these two together (Fun with Focus) the results can be truly spectacular.

In uncertain times, it can be easy to succumb to worry and fear. However, if all we do is worry, we’ll just attract more to worry about. Most of us would prefer not to have that. So it’s important to think about and focus on what you do want in your life rather than on what you don’t want.

It’s not about being in denial and ignoring the risks around us and doing that thing kids do by putting their fingers in their ears and singing “Lalalala, I can’t hear you!”

It’s more about consciously deciding what you’re going to focus on – new opportunities perhaps. Or deciding that, rather than wail, wallow and worry, we could have some fun.

Focus on fun! Have fun written into your culture statement as one of your core values.

How do you have fun in challenging times?

Here are just 5 straightforward practical tips on how to have fun

1.????Commit to laughing out loud every day and smile more!

?2.????Do what you love. Love what you do! If something needs to be done that you don’t usually enjoy, turn it into a game and have fun.

3.????Get creative. All humans are creative beings. Be sure to do something creative every day – preferably not involving your phone!

4.????Start a new hobby. It can be easy to numb ourselves out in front of the television or computer screen at the end of the day. Why not take up a new hobby – with absolutely no expectations on whether you’ll be good or bad at it. Just give it a go and see how much fun it can be!

5.????Allow yourself to be spontaneous from time to time. Do something different at the last minute. Have a picnic lunch. Leave work early. Take an evening trip out to the seaside. Have fun!

That’s just 5 easy ideas you can implement straightaway. You’ll have some great ideas of your own that you can have fun with. I’d love to hear them. Do get in touch!

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