When was the last time you played? The last time you simply
ignored your responsibilities and enjoyed yourself? As a child, play comes
easily and consumes most of our time. Even if it’s not classified as “play,”
spending quality time on leisure activities has been highly valued for
centuries. In days of old, people often spent time on leisure activities and
they saw the value of art, literature, and discovery.
When America was formed though, the focus quickly turned
from the value of play to the value of work. In America, if you work hard, you
have a greater chance to “become something”. As an adult, play takes us away
from work and is seen as a hindrance in our progression towards success. Taking
time to enjoy yourself is seen as selfish and irresponsible. Why play if you
knew that a few more hours of work would put you ahead of the rest? So what do
we do? We work ourselves straight to our graves. Compared to the world,
American’s enjoy the least amount of vacation and we are suffering because of
it.
A year ago, I was trying to relax while watching TV when a
car ad popped up. The character was rambling about how American’s were superior
to the world because our drive for work and excellence was going to take us
places. Oddly enough, I was saddened. Why are we working so hard if we are
never going to take the time to enjoy our progress? There will always be time
for work. Maybe instead of becoming overwhelmed by our responsibilities, we
should take the time to love the world we are in for a change. So put down the
homework. Close your notebooks. Turn of the TV. Set down your phone. Just go
play.
Thanks for your post Michelle, I completely agree with this. We get so caught up in all the things we "have" to do, and we don't get enough time to do the things we "want" to do. There is always homework, or work, or chores, or whatever, but sometimes we need that changed frame of reference to focus on having fun and enjoying life. It keeps us sane.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the documentary on people in Japan literally working themselves to death? They actually have a name for a medical condition that is linked to working too much. Your post reminds me of that video; there was a father with a wife and daughter and when he would go home his daughter didn't even know who he was. Then one day something didn't work according to plan in the factory and he died right there. His heart just stopped.
ReplyDeleteI heard it said recently that now is one of the only time periods where the rich actually had less time to do leisure activities than those with lower incomes, because those with higher incomes found it costs them more to miss a day of work than the other activities would be worth. In striving for success I do agree agree that people often burn themselves out- my finance professor siad that those who get places in high profile wall street jobs often work an average of 100 hours a week for the first couple of years. While the salaries associated with that are very high, it also seems to be too much- that 60% of your week working, with barely enought time to sleep in between.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I think a lot of people go way to far with the concept of "play", and therefore a balance needs to be reached.
I heard it said recently that now is one of the only time periods where the rich actually had less time to do leisure activities than those with lower incomes, because those with higher incomes found it costs them more to miss a day of work than the other activities would be worth. In striving for success I do agree agree that people often burn themselves out- my finance professor siad that those who get places in high profile wall street jobs often work an average of 100 hours a week for the first couple of years. While the salaries associated with that are very high, it also seems to be too much- that 60% of your week working, with barely enought time to sleep in between.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I think a lot of people go way to far with the concept of "play", and therefore a balance needs to be reached.
I agree that this is a strong American dogma, in certain places and with certain American demographics. And I'm not really opposed to it. I prefer to work hard so I can play hard like your title says. In personal opinion, the quality of my play time is worth more than the amount of play time i get. There are a lot of leisure activities now days that haven't been available to any other generation, and many of those pass times are EXPENSIVE. Maybe I don't spend as much time playing as other people, but it might be that I prefer 18 holes of golf over a dollar movie so I go out 18 times less than them.
ReplyDeleteMy question on this is: What if the working is what we find enjoyable? There are those (many, I would challenge) Who find being engaged, challenged, and productive more 'fun' more fulfilling than any vacation, game, or nap ever could be.
ReplyDeleteI think that America has accomplished so much (as have many other countries) because of people like this - people who take joy in progress more than play.