Have you ever looked closely at a top performer in any field and wondered what drives them to be the best they can be? Perhaps it’s wanting to win, the money, or they like being competitive by nature. Indeed, a lot of factors drive people to success, but one very common yet often overlooked characteristic is fun.
Want more success in life? Have more fun!
Outsiders see big-time performers as super self-disciplined, self-sacrificing success-and-achievement machines. Yet a closer look gives a more accurate portrayal of what really drives these people: fun. Champions have more fun in their work than any other group. They take whatever time is necessary to choose a career path that encompasses their natural talents, abilities, and most of all, their passions.
Amateurs have a difficult time competing with the pros because most amateurs hate their jobs, which is one of the primary reasons they’re amateurs in the first place. Professional performers are highly disciplined, of course, yet their core drive and mental fortitude seem to come from the pure fun, excitement, enjoyment and exhilaration of their work.
Take a look at professional golf, for example. 22 year old Jordan Spieth is currently the number-one ranked professional golfer in the world. He practically emerged out of nowhere this year on the PGA Tour and he’s going to be around for a very long time. And while he’s extremely disciplined and talented, you can’t help to see how much fun he’s having. He loves golf. He loves the competitiveness. He loves winning. And loving what you do is a critical component to being successful no matter if you are a professional golfer, a CEO, entrepreneur or anything else.
Average people go to work and plod through the day; champions go to work and have fun. This is one of the reasons amateurs cannot compete with pros – it’s a mismatch from the start. One is focused on surviving, while the other is just playing a game and having fun.
The truth is that the most successful people in anything have so much fun that they don’t even see it as work. Did you ever wonder why someone who becomes so successful and clearly doesn’t need the money keeps working? It’s because they have so much fun doing it. It’s not work to them. It’s fun.
What can you do to have more fun?
First, be honest with yourself. How much fun are you having in your life? On a scale of one to seven, with seven being the most fun, give yourself a rating in each area of your life. Next, ask this critical thinking question: Can I eliminate doing things that aren’t fun? Really think hard about your answer.
Of course there are things in life that aren’t fun but are necessary, like going to the dentist or paying taxes, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about things related to your career, personal life, free time and your overall feeling about life. Are you truly having fun?
The point is life is short and unpredictable. Why do things you don’t enjoy unless it is impossible to escape them?
As the great Joe Namath said, “When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun, and when you have fun, you can do amazing things.”
If you start to incorporate more fun into your life, the results of everything you do will skyrocket.
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Steve Siebold is author of 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of The World Class and a mental toughness consultant to Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, athletes and other super achievers.
Featured photo by Dan Foy