Over the years I've collected scores of comics and cartoons about marriage, families, stress and change. There is just something about a good comic strip that can many times explain something much better than I can.
One of my all time favorite strips in the "Family Circus" - and not just because the little boy's name is Jeff. It's also because it realistically captures many of the struggles of day to day living.
A few years back, I cut out a Family Circus that had just two scenes in it.
The first scene shows the two parents, huddled attentively in front of the TV, watching an older and obviously learned gentleman lecturing on The Fundamentals of Having Fun, if you can believe such a title.
The second scene simply shows the kids out in the yard - running, playing, swinging, playing chase, and basically Having Fun!
Now, can someone please explain to me how it is that we go from being kids who naturally know how to have fun to being adults that have to watch a TV program in order to learn how to have fun?
Exactly what has happened to us?
What I notice with more and more frequency, both in my practice and in my seminars, is that many "grown-ups" have somehow forgotten how to do at least two very important things in life: how to rest and how to have fun.
We'll save how to rest for another time. Today we will tackle a very simple exercise on how to have fun.
Four Simple Steps to Remembering How to Have Fun
Step 1 - Write down 5 -10 things that you like to do for fun. They can be small, just a few minute things or larger more time consuming activities, and everything in between. If you can't think of at least five things you like to do for fun, call me, we need to talk.............
Step 2 - Looking at your list, do the following:
put a "D" next to each thing you have done in the last day/24 hours
put a "W" next to each thing you have done in the last week
put an "M" next to each thing you have done in the last month
put a 6 next to each thing you have done in the last 6 months, and finally
put a 1 next to each thing you have done in the last year
Step 3 - Review your list. If you find you have lots of D's and W's, good for you! If you are like most folks however, you will find you have many more 1's, 6's and M's than you might have expected. That's the purpose of this little check-up, to give you a bit of a wake up call. Now on to step four and what you can do about this............
Step 4 - Choose just one activity from your list that you can commit to doing in the next week. Make the decision to do this activity NO MATTER WHAT!
We tend to make things so difficult, when really this can be quite simple.
Then the next week, choose something else from your list and do that one. And so on and so on. In this way, you get 100% improvement each week.
Not bad, huh?
Now if you really want to be radical, you could do one thing from your list everyday.
But that might be too much fun..................
Visit secretsofgreatrelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.
Batchtown Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareIs your in-tray or inbox full? I don't normally check... Read More
Do you feel that you just don't have the time... Read More
What would you say if I told you I know... Read More
According to the StressPulse survey by ComPsych Corporation completed at... Read More
Tough leaders are usually seen as ogres. Their exacting demands... Read More
Q:We recently had someone come to our company to talk... Read More
1. The Law of StagnationThis is also known as first... Read More
* The material presented in this article is provided for... Read More
Too much driving, too much shopping, too much rushing around,... Read More
It is very true that, unfortunately, many people look to... Read More
Most people find it easy to identify the sources of... Read More
First, let's make a distinction between pressure and stress. We... Read More
What good is Personal or Business Success...if your Health is... Read More
Let's face it. If you are stressed, agitated and flitting... Read More
Aromatherapy is very therapeutic when it comes to healing emotional... Read More
Insomnia is usually the result of the modern way of... Read More
In our article about Exercise & Stress, we looked at... Read More
If you have recently lost health insurance coverage through your... Read More
Probably the least appreciated form of stress is college stress.... Read More
We all know what it's like coming home from a... Read More
After a stressful day as a computer programmer, Jim pulled... Read More
Amazing thing, overwhelm!You don't usually see it coming. It just... Read More
It is no secret that stress and related disorders are... Read More
Syndicated columnist Dale Dauten recently wrote, "One of life's great... Read More
Did you ever feel like your "get-up-and-go" got up and... Read More
shuttle from Midway Munster are ..The predominant role human conditioning plays in a stressful environment.... Read More
One of the ways I have avoided a lot of... Read More
I just got through reading some troubling news in the... Read More
One question that is not asked enough by people under... Read More
We've all experienced it-computerized technology that doesn't function properly. PCs... Read More
1. The Law of EveryoneIt is not neccessarily wrong to... Read More
The brain uses feel-good transmitters called endorphins when managing daily... Read More
Get at least 15 minutes of sunshine daily.Daily Exercise -... Read More
The pace of life seems to quicken every year. More... Read More
But how can this happen to someone?Let's concentrate on how... Read More
When was the last time you took a day just... Read More
With how busy we keep ourselves on a day to... Read More
THE ENCHANTED SELF? teaches you how to access positive states... Read More
Understanding StressStress has been called "the invisible disease". It is... Read More
Seems like more and more they are all around us.... Read More
Everywhere I go, I hear the same unpleasant sentence repeated... Read More
When was the last time that you truly took a... Read More
Genuine enthusiasm...real feeling of accomplishment...sense of satisfaction and fun. Welcome... Read More
Stress is amazingly persistent, even seductive. We get used to... Read More
Conceptualizing stress: Stress often has a negative connotation. Failure, illnesses,... Read More
A while back, I was in a minor fender-bender accident,... Read More
According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions' (A.C.T.U.) 1997... Read More
Did you know that more than half of our adult... Read More
Comedian George Carlin once remarked, "Have your ever noticed? Anyone... Read More
It is an inescapable fact, we live in a stressful... Read More
Stress Management |