The dangers of stereotyping the definition of fun and enjoyment

"Why don't you go on a vacation and have some fun, what's the point in working so much and earning those big bucks if you don't want to have some fun?" A coworker asked one of my friends. My friend could not come up with any explanation as he didn't have any. He knew that his coworker wouldn't believe if he said that he loved his work so much that he didn't need any other enjoyment to really enjoy his life. For him his work was fun and that's all he needed to feel content and happy. However, for most of us, this is not true and I feel stereotyping the definition of fun and enjoyment is the main reason behind this.

There are indeed some people around us who love their work more than anything else and they don't feel the need to do anything else. But many of us can't even imagine that work or studying can be so much fun. The problem is we have stereotyped the definition of fun and enjoyment. We are told that ONLY fun is going on vacation, partying in pubs, having drinks with friends, spending time with friends and family, or watching movies, almost anything but not our work. Many or all of these activities indeed are entertaining and many people enjoy engaging in these activities, but it is not necessary that everyone needs to do them to have fun. I don't understand why people find it hard to digest that someone can have fun while doing their job or while studying? Why study or job is stereotyped as boring and hard, why can't they be super fun and entertaining like other so-called entertaining activities? The main reason behind this stereotyping is that most people don't do a job of their choice or study in the area they really love. They stay in their job even though they don't enjoy a bit of that work and they study subjects in which they have zero interest. Most people do these things (job and study) just because someone told them that this is what everyone does and this is the only way to be successful in this world. They were made to believe that this is how the world works. The effect is, that most people feel that they are stuck with this so-called routine life and try to seek refuge in enjoyment methods which are again prescribed to them by their surroundings to make up for their boring life.

Our society has stereotyped definitions of work, fun, and enjoyment. Why does work need to be always boring? Why weekend culture is so prevalent as if people don't live their lives during the weekdays? Why people who don't go to parties, go on vacation, drink, or watch movies but focus on their work and studies are perceived as boring and someone who is not having any fun? The danger behind such stereotyping is that many people start believing in such categorization and they feel increasingly unsatisfied with their lives. They feel that their life is boring due to their job and students feel they are trapped in studying and they need to do something different to have fun and enjoyment in their lives. The reason for this misunderstanding is simple, we fail to understand that someone can also have fun while working on their job, studying for their degree, or doing research because we are not taught that these things can be fun. Yes, one needs to have a healthy atmosphere at a workplace to enjoy it, one needs to love the subject and have to have great teachers to enjoy their studies, but these things are not hard to find in today's world. There are a variety of industries where one can choose to work as per their liking. The number of universities and courses they offer is vast and one can choose any subject of their liking to study (online or on campus). We can have fun while working if we find our work really exciting and find some purpose behind doing it. If we look forward to the knowledge and wisdom we could get by studying the subject which we like studies will not be boring. One needs a break from everything, there is nothing wrong with taking breaks, not because that particular thing is boring or torturous, but to bring a variety in life and this could be a good reason to do different activities.

Strenuous physical or mental efforts are part of work and study, these things can be very demanding physically and mentally, and some people might say that this is the part that makes these things less interesting and boring. But, gym or sports also demand physical and mental stamina, but many enjoy going to the gym or playing some sport. They don't mind the physical and mental rigor that sports and gym demand. Similarly, if we can have the same attitude towards our work and studies these things can also give us the same enjoyment. Please try this approach and then you will realize that there is no need to live life only during weekends, but weekdays can also be equally rewarding and exciting. Our work consumes a major part of our active lives and we invest the best part of our youth in studying, so it is better if we also enjoy these things. Let's fill our lives with unlimited fun and excitement.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

Camping - a chance to connect with nature

Like last few years (3 years to be precise), this year also we went camping. It all started 3 years back when my very enthusiastic friend Vishnu threw this idea about going camping. Normally, I am not very enthusiastic about visiting any exotic place, but this idea of leaving your comfortable home for no particular reason appealed to me and we started this adventure. People who know me know how enthusiastic I am about traveling! I don't like to travel that much. I know it is exciting and many people just love to travel but somehow I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy many other activities. But even after all this, I go on many trips, not just because of my interest in the places where I am going but most of the time because of people or groups with whom I travel. I am particularly lucky to have met a lot of amazing people in my life and they all make all these occasions special and unique for me. The pleasure of traveling with amazing people takes care of other boring aspects of the journey. But camping is the one thing which I enjoy just because there is a huge element of unpredictability in it. We always try to go to the new campsite every year. So, we don't know how it will be (you can get most of the information from the internet but there are always surprises). We normally plan it 1-2 months in advance so whether is not known, and during camping (with tents and sleeping bags) one can not isolate oneself from whether like one can do by staying in hotels or resorts or other places which can protect you from temperature fluctuations, rain, and other weather fluctuations. All these things make camping a lot more interesting than other outings for me. Maybe this is not the best way to spend your long weekend for everyone but it's definitely an interesting way to spend time with your family and friends.

All these camping trips are unique experiences for me in their own way. Every time there are some new people in our group, most of them try this adventure for the first time in their life with us and most of them enjoy this and they try again. Based on the description I am providing I am sure that some people might think that this doesn't look like a thing to do for everyone or maybe doesn't sound like a lot of fun, and it is true. Sometimes these things are physically very demanding and one starts thinking why to do it when other more comfortable options are available. Another thing that I like about these outings is I also get the chance to spend time away from TV and the internet. Only our phone stays with me and that too for important calls, so there is a lot of free time for discussion, games, arguments, walks, etc. These activities are great but nowadays we struggle to find any free time to do them regularly in this era of the internet and video games. I do enjoy the internet and video games a lot but there are many equally wonderful things that we should enjoy.

Whatever I wrote in this post about camping is my personal thoughts. People may or may not agree with them, they might think camping is a bad idea, a health risk (because of allergies, risk of physical injuries, etc.) and they are right but there is an element of risk involved in almost everything we do and it's up to us to evaluate and decide whether we want to go for it or not. There might be better ways to connect with nature and understand our surroundings than camping but this one suits me and my nature that's why I love it. I recommend trying it at least once before rejecting it.  

Thanks for reading and please share your views.

our temporary home

beautiful view of lake early in the morning

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)