An element of fun

What’s the job you really dislike doing?  Maybe it’s at work – they say that there’s likely to be up to 20% of your job role that you really don’t enjoy (although I have met many people for whom it is a lot higher number).  Maybe it’s at home?  For me it’s the housework.  I’ll always find something else to do instead of doing the housework.  I can just about bring myself to do the washing up everyday – oh how I wish my kitchen was big enough to have a dishwasher – but it isn’t so I’m one of those rare folk who still wash dishes by hand!  So for me it’s the dusting and the vaccuuming that I put off and put off.  What is it for you?

Let’s not pretend to be amateur psychiatrists and figure out why we don’t like it – let’s just admit and accept that we don’t and go from there. Well, I don’t know about you, but I much prefer being happy to being sad.  And whilst doing the housework doesn’t exactly make me sad, it certainly doesn’t make me happy either!!  It’s actually one of the reasons I put off doing it – I don’t feel good when I do it, so I don’t want to do it!  It’s obvious really when I put it like that isn’t it?  Why would any of us want to do something when we know we won’t feel good?

So today I am going to invite you to take part in a little challenge – think about the thing you don’t want to today.  That thing on your list (if you’re a list maker) that you know perfectly well you are going to put off if you can – and create a way to have fun with it. 

Let me share mine with you – I’m going to play loud music and ‘dance’ my way though the housework.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

And I’m going to thank none other than Mary Poppins for my inspiration.  It was that most famous of all nannies who reminds us:

In ev'ry job that must be done. There is an element of fun.

You find the fun and snap! The job's a game.

And ev'ry task you undertake. Becomes a piece of cake.