“Fun is one of the most important – and underrated – ingredients in any successful venture. If you’re not having fun, then it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else.” ~Richard Branson

I spent last week with my grandchildren.

Aged four and six, they are whirling dervishes, kinetic energy made manifest.

And always—always—in search of fun.

We have painted pretty pictures, built block buildings, raced model cars, and kicked all kinds of balls, inside and out.

We have read hundreds of books, searched hours for treasure, collected acorns for squirrels, and created imaginary villages in the bushes and forts under blankets.

I have been a horse, a bear, a cowboy, or a ballerina in the name of those fun seekers.

And we have danced. Oh, how we’ve danced!

Spending time with my grandchildren, at this tender age, when their minds are like silly putty and their spirits like unbroken horses, is probably the most fun thing in my life.

Not to say there aren’t plenty of things I enjoy; my life, by choice, is mostly filled with endeavours that bring me pleasure.

But fun? It seems that for many decades I’ve may have been more consumed with other things, less fun things, like responsibilities and reality.

It occurs to me now that fun seeking is an unlearned skill: We come into this world knowing all about having fun; we leave the world having forgotten much about how to find it.

And it also occurs to me that it may in fact be fear that first elbows fun off the field and onto the sidelines of our lives, sitting on the bench, just waiting for an opportunity to be called back into the game.

Fear of mistakes, or embarrassment, of not being good enough, not measuring up, or of letting others down… we have lots of fears.

But, any good coach knows their team will screw up at times.

And if we are each of us the coach of ourselves, we’d be well served to send fun back in before the game ends.

And bench the fear of failure.

Because it’s impossible to fear when you’re having fun.

“There’s no fear when you’re having fun.” ~Will Thomas