Fun is Hard Work

Here's the thing... Sometimes to have fun, you gotta make fun. Fun doesn't create itself. Joy doesn't just pop out of nowhere and surprise you, and laughter isn't made from thin air (unless the air is helium, which can result in humor).

Lots of folks can hardly believe how I talk about my job, because a lot of what I share is the fun stuff. The pranks my office buddy and I pull. The bubble wrap mania. The war on boxes. The backwards clock we hung on the wall for the sole purpose of confusing people. We play music (loud music) in our part of the building. We dance across the floor. While waiting for our machine to finish a print job, it's no surprise to find us practicing our Taekwondo moves, or pretending to be ninjas. Sometimes alone. Sometimes we attack each other. Weapons? We use poster tubes or rulers. Do we look ridiculous? Absolutely! And people love hearing about all our antics.

Everything we do, though, takes effort. Our jobs aren't really all that fun. Our days aren't full of free time to goof off. We have very stressful projects with tight schedules. We deal with people waiting on us every day, and sometimes have to go to Taekwondo or Krav Maga classes just to blow off steam. We kick boxes not only because it's fun, but because sometimes we just need that stress release. My office buddy and I have great jobs, don't get me wrong. Working in ministry has fantastic rewards. We work with godly people and will never be told we can't pray or can't open our Bibles at work. We're touching lives worldwide with our work. But despite all the fun everybody hears about...yes, our jobs can be very stressful at times.

That's where the effort to make it fun comes in.

Fun isn't just born. It must be made. Why do we prank our coworkers? Because it produces laughter and lightens moods. Why do we act like ninjas? Because if we don't, we might really go mad. Why do we stand at the digital printer and laugh when there's paper strewn from end to end? Because if we don't, we might cry.

We make laughter. Our jobs really aren't all that fun. We create the fun to survive. We work hard at having good attitudes, and we rely on each other to help maintain the light atmosphere at our end of the building. And in reality...anybody can do it.

Not everybody can behave like we can at their jobs. I get that. But everybody can make the best of their situations and can have joy within themselves no matter their daily tasks. Having fun doesn't require pranks, ninjas or even bubble wrap. But it does require effort of the heart. It's attitude. It's mindset. Enjoying one's day is a choice.

So yeah, I've got a great job. But the laughter? That's a byproduct of daily effort.