Can work be fun?

Missy Franklin, 17, won an Olympic gold medal this week in the women's 100-meter backstroke swimming competition. Like all Olympic athletes, she has spent hours and hours training.

Unlike some athletes, however, Franklin believes in having fun with her swimming. Did she want to win? Yes, she was pretty clear about that. But in an interview of her that I saw earlier in the day of competition, she was also very clear about the fact that she wasn't going to stress out about competing and winning. The important thing, she said, was that she was smiling at the end of the day. She wanted swimming to be fun, not just hard work.

I have spent way too many years pushing myself very hard to do my best at work. I'm not saying I regret doing my best in jobs I've held. But I could have held them a little more lightly and still done a very good job. Perhaps I didn't need to be quite so hard on myself. I could have had a little more fun with my jobs. I could have relaxed a tad more.

I'm trying to do that now. I take my work as a coach very seriously. However, I also enjoy doing this so much. And because I want to be in a good zone when I coach my clients, I'm learning to detach from my anxieties and stress, to be more in the flow of conversation during coaching. I'm learning to have fun with it. And, honestly, I think it's opening me up more to be "in the moment" with my clients—open to whatever discoveries might emerge and wherever the path leads.

Do you have fun with how you're spending your days? If not, why? Want to change that? Contact me if you want to talk about this. I offer a no-obligation, complimentary strategy session.