Celebrate What You Want to See More Of —Thomas J. Peters
The last few weeks have been filled with celebrations and fun. We started off with The Fourth of July, then a few days later, Deb’s birthday. She took the day off and celebrated with family and friends. In our happy little corporation of two, we have a company policy of mandatory days off on our birthdays. We think it makes good business sense. Believe me, there is plenty of work for her to do, and it would have been very easy for her to say, “Oh what the heck, I’ll just work anyway and catch up…” But she can’t. This is why the company policy is MANDATORY. It makes it easier to deal with that little guilty voice that tells you you really should be working and getting ahead because there is so much to do.
I followed up with a “Staycation” last week, where I worked a little and played a lot. Even though there is a TON of work on the docket. It was time for a creative mental break and time to play.
Why is it that taking time off to celebrate, relax and play feels like such a frivolous waste of our valuable time? Why do we mentally beat ourselves up for having a good time when we “really should” be getting things done? If you find yourself in the camp of people who find it hard to relax and have fun and celebrate, then I have some good news for you. Celebrating is good for business.
One of the assignments I am frequently reminding my coaching clients about is the mandatory homework of finding something to celebrate. At first glance, this might seem like something a focused business coach wouldn’t waste her time on, but in fact, making it a business policy to take time out of the busyness of business to celebrate, have fun and play actually can be more productive in the long run.
The Benefits of Celebration and Play in Your Business Plan
- Focuses you on the Positive: Where your attention goes, your future goes. Want more to celebrate? Then start by celebrating what you currently have. Even if it seems like you have to look under a rock to find something. By bringing your awareness to the joy and happiness around you, you will invite more of it into your life.
- Diminishes burn-out: Everyone has heard all work and no play makes for a dull boy, but do we listen? There is a very real danger to your business as an entrepreneur if you are all business, all the time. That tempo can’t be sustained forever. Play restores your energy, your purpose and your vision.
- Stimulates creativity: Too much striving and hard work is bad for creativity. And creativity is key to a Creativepreneur’s business! Taking time to celebrate, play, and experience a change of atmosphere, emotion and pace stimulates your brain to see things in a different way. The bonus? New, fresh ideas.
- Motivates you to reach further: Sometimes we forget the WHY, WHO, and WHAT we are working for in the first place. The days drone on endlessly without any goal or good reason in sight for what we do. Work has become a necessary habit more than a daily choice. Celebrations renew us and remind us of the fun and joy that we are building our future for.
- Increases energy: Happiness and fun stimulate energy. Ever feel like your Get up and Go is gone for good? Time for a party! Even a ten-minute celebration of a goal completed, a task crossed off, or a victory achieved stimulates the brain to want more of the same.
- Improves job satisfaction: The job won’t seem as overwhelming and stressful with built-in breaks of happy joy. some of that good mood will spill into your daily work and clients will pick up on your happy and positive energy. It all builds up, happy in one place breeds happiness in others.
- Creates Life/Business Balance: I’m not saying that a little partying will balance out life/work completely, but it is one step in the right direction. When we are balanced and happy in life, it is a lot easier to be happy and balanced on the job as well.
Go Ahead, pop open the champagne and blow up the balloons. In fact, you might want to consider a new company policy. Mandatory Fun!
