"If it’s not fun doing, it’s not worth doing it…”
… So goes the quote I heard today that got me thinking. Although we all have tasks and duties that in and of themselves may not be “fun”, it may not take a lot to make them so, or at least focus one's attention on how it helps bring one closer to goals that are fun or fulfilling.
It reminded me of when I built a small student rocket that my team and I launched at the Launchpad 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center in 2012 (Yep, that's me to the right!). The same launch pad used for the Apollo missions and currently by SpaceX. It was a serious and demanding project, but why not make it more fun by painting it pink, covering it with girly stickers, and have a toy unicorn-mascot come out with the parachute together with glitter in the colors of the rainbow? So that's what we did!
My friends and I from the space studies program still make fun of it today. We didn’t have to make it fun and silly. But we did. Because we could, and because why not?
So when I read the quote of the title today I thought that while we do have to do things that are not a lot of “fun”, we can still add a twist or a mindset to make them more enjoyable. For ourselves and for others.
So let me leave the post with my own quote that I've used many times throughout the years to capture the essence of what I think:
Dare to do something funny, the worst thing that can happen os that it becomes a good story
When was the last thing you did something silly just for fun?
Making things funny is survival rule #1 in the lab.
Things I've witnessed:
Postdocs blaring bad carnival music from the old CD player while pipetting
Two PhD students watching a whippet cookie blow up in the microwave
One of the assistants picking out different colors to mark the bees, not because he has to but because he can and it's pretty
Mice that have been given names instead of numbers, because even if you're not supposed to grow attached, it's nicer to take care of Rosie than of E-389
Printed out comics with really bad biology jokes everywhere
Some lab supplies had googly eyes
Just bought a new microwave for the apartment. Now I'm suddenly looking at it and thinking what I could blow up in it😅
Grapes
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/story/why-a-grape-turns-into-a-fireball-in-a-microwave/amp
This one cracked me up. And the pink shirts too xD
Glad to hear that! :) I still have both the rocket and the pink polo at home :D
I bet nothing could top this :D
Life is supposed to be fun even if people say that it has to be serious. It doesn't matter even though it looks silly from the outside, what's important is that it lift off from the ground. Cheers!
I like to think I have some more fun stories ;) but this is certainly one of my favorites!:)
True! You can always add a touch of fun and play to most things. A lot of workplaces could/should learn from that!
Oh definitely, especially here at South-east Asian countries, we are slowly "trying" to adopt the western work culture. I believe it's more motivating that way.😊
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😆 a hello kitty sticker on the 🚀
Did the unicorn 🦄 survive the landing?
We named it "My little rocket" 😁.
Yes, it made a soft landing! (Smelled a bit burned though, but looked unharmed!)
Great post and also i guess i will make use of your quote to tell someone tomorrow