“What would it look like if this was fun?”
It's a question that I (thankfully) cannot get out of my head since I read it in James Clear's mega-popular newsletter:
Make your habits fun. This doesn't mean each habit will be the most fun thing in your life, but nearly any habit can be made more fun than it is currently. Ask yourself, “What would it look like if this was fun?” What would it look like if meditation or exercise or writing—or whatever—was fun? Find the most enjoyable version of each habit you do.
The author/podcaster Tim Ferriss asks a similar question: “What would this look like if it were easy?”
We all have responsibilities to take care of. Not everything is going to be easy or fun.
But grinning and bearing it is often not the only possible frame.
Our bodies do not reward us more for exercise that we hate as compared to getting the same physical activity while dancing the night away.
The people we try to serve do not benefit more when we view our work only as a sacrifice, rather than something enjoyable.
Malcolm Gladwell made famous the idea that one needs to get 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” to excel.
In his new book Hidden Potential, Adam Grant talks about the concept of “deliberate play.” This is not simply trying to “gamify” something we dislike but changing our learning or practice itself to make it enjoyable.
Now, we have work to do, and for those of us who are Christian, we’re called to give of ourselves.
But that doesn’t mean it needs to be drudgery. "God loves a cheerful giver." (So does everyone else!) And we can have some fun along the way.