Today I want to talk about FUN.
I’m going to talk about why FUN is so vital for your Powerful Presence, the quickest way to access it in your work and projects, and then in the spirit of this time of year, offer a hilarious story so we can laugh together.
And before we start, just say the word out loud – Fun.
Do you find the corners of your mouth turn upwards, or a smile come across your face?
Perhaps there is warmth in your body?
Just let that percolate for a minute!
Fun.
Fun is a vital force in your Powerful Presence. It is a great infuser of energy and can also help to quickly shift feeling stuck or obsessive thinking. Fun can be a pattern interrupter, meaning it “interrupts” when you are in some kind of mental spiral with the same phrase repeating over and over, like “I’m not good enough”. You can think of it as the hand that lifts the needle off the record player, or presses STOP on the tune of self defeat.
This is why conscious comedy and a great joke can literally change the whole energy of a room or how a conversation is going. You may have felt sad, angry or devastated and then after laughter, feel this release and relief. There is an opening where you felt so closed inside.
Fun is an agent of change.
This is very important to know when we are in times of deep challenges and difficulty, and especially when we feel stuck in a rut. Despite what much of modern patriarchal society likes to say, “doubling down” and “working harder” actually will make the situation worse. It’s quite possible in those moments that things are WAY out of balance, and forcing yourself to work harder just creates constriction and more frustration. Fun allows you to tip the scales and come back into balance so you can employ creative problem solving and feel SPACE in your body and mind.
Take into account the impact this has on your audience. Your audience FEELS you. They feel when you are constricted and tied up in knots. They feel when you are confused and beating yourself up, so Fun can be a wonderful alchemy to show up more powerfully with them. This will result in you giving your best performance, speaking your truths, and drawing them in. Because you have cleared space within your being and mind, you will communicate with confidence.
So, now I would love to share a simple way you can use this.
The quickest way to incorporate Fun into your work and projects is to place your attention on the process and not on the result
While it is important to have clarity about what you want, and what is important to you, when you place all your attention on the END, on the result, you are literally not present. You are robbing yourself of the present moment, which is actually your point of power. Your next step towards your goal and fearless vision happens HERE, it happens NOW, and no where else. Your ability and confidence are alive NOW, so when you place your attention on the process and not the result, you are tapping into your unstoppable confidence.
Also, when you are placing all your attention on the result, there is an incredible amount of pressure that can really derail your project, and especially your timeline. Some things may genuinely NEED more time, and if you are just thinking about the result, you will probably rush through vital forks in the road and make decisions you will later regret, like hiring the wrong person for your team, saying yes to an event that is a terrible fit for your brand growth, or delivering a manuscript that is riddled with spelling errors.
When you place your attention on the process, it creates SPACE, and invites in creativity. Because the process will most likely INCLUDE you taking walks in the sunshine, reading inspiring books, and filling yourself up with all the beautiful energy that balances and calms you.
For instance, when I was first dealing with my migraine headaches and feeling scared daily because I didn’t know what was going on, I would take a break at lunch time and watch old Carol Burnett Show videos. This felt fun to me, and allowed a shift in my energy so I stayed in the process of healing and gaining answers, instead of just constantly thinking I was failing.
And Fun is PERSONAL. Only you know what Fun is for you. Only you feel that shift, the bubbling of laughter and the widening of your eyes as a smile erupts on your face. Trust that. It’s not about what anyone else is doing, but what works for you.
So, place your attention on the process, not the result and give yourself a Fun break. We could all use it, especially now.
To close us out, and because Halloween was last weekend, I wanted to share some Fun with you.
The first Halloween I spent with my husband when we were dating in 2017, we decided to dress up as Shiva and Shakti, the Hindu deities. It was so much fun to put together the costumes from friends, stores, and items in our closet. But, being Hindu deities, we weren’t wearing much clothing, in fact, my husband was actually wearing a loincloth and completely bare chested. We went to an event called “Boo on the Boardwalk” in Point Pleasant Beach to enjoy festivities and afterwards, actually had to run an errand. We needed to go to Home Depot. And feeling very free, we decided to just go in as we were, in full costume. Wigs and all!
Watching my husband, in his loin cloth and flip flops grab a cart, I couldn’t stop laughing, and got inspired for us to just start having a mini shoot with the question, “if Shiva and Shakti went shopping at Home Depot, what would they buy?” So I took pictures of me enthralled with crystal lighting and Chuck looking at hammers and axes. Not a single employee came near us as we laughed over and over, and after checking out, I posted pictures of our divine trip to Home Depot.
Our audience loved it:) And when we dressed up as Khaleesi and Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones the following year, we made sure to repeat the whole Home Depot craziness again, laughing just as much.
And both Halloweens, we were both dealing with some HUGE stresses in our work life, so this escapade was a loving reset.
Fun affirms your life.
Fun creates space and opens you to your confidence, so enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy! Allow it to be part of your process that will actually get you to your important vision, instead of derailing you.
Bring on the Fun!