Another potentially positive offspring  of a substantial economic downturn, which is closely associated with the opportunity to reshuffle our priorities, is the chance it provides us to redefine fun and to seek more of it with our spare time.  It is almost embarrassing to realize that prior to this “great recession”, we allocated so much of our time and energy to activities that simply weren’t much fun and didn’t include those who mean the most to us.

With new found “free time” on our hands and the pressure to preserve financial resources, we naturally seek out alternative pastimes.  The silver lining in this often includes having fun with family and friends over casual gatherings.  We suddenly begin to take stock in simple pleasures and appreciate what we already have available.

During our late summer cleaning this year, we even discovered long forgotten “toys” that still bring us great pleasure.

Believe it or not, I think my kids actually had a few hours of fun RAKING the LEAVES this year!  (ok…maybe that’s a stretch)

Fun is all around us…when we focus on it.  I use to think it was a silly saying that “happiness is a choice”, but it is especially contagious and transferable once it starts.

I believe we can actually achieve higher quality of life in a downturn because we are often forced to make more quality time available.  I think a slower / more manageable pace helps facilitate spontaneity and perhaps we can feel better about the quality of fun we are having with minimal cost.  While it can often happen without much effort, it is easier to simply make plans to give it a try.

There are a number of ideas worthy of consideration:

- Try an old fashioned “game night” with another couple or with your kids

- Family movie nights are always popular (this time with popcorn–just like the theater)

- Connect with distant friends/relatives via social media–actually posting photos and stories on facebook for others to enjoy.  I am still a bit lame in this regard, but I am getting better.

- You may find that nothing is more fulfilling than volunteering for that role in your Church that really needs attention

- I’ve heard from several colleagues that have also submerged in their kids school activities and/or sports and the added bonus of stronger bonds with their children

- Time to go back to school yourself?  Even online self-improvement classes or learning modules can be fun (ie finally learn how to really use Excel…or start a foreign language)

Any other ideas?  What recommendations would you have for someone to instill more FUN in their lives without using significant financial resources?

[Note:  I am intentionally breaking this post into multiple entries this week.  It was far too long, and I'm not skilled enough to be succinct.]

Start with Priorities:

This “Great Recession” we are experiencing will certainly have many lessons on life for at least another generation.  From learning to save for rainy days like these, to taking charge of your career, to creating the lifestyle that you can afford, to simply re-aligning our priorities; difficult times can provide terrific opportunities for learning and fresh starts for each of us.   I want to share a few revelations of my own as my focus these days has been on the silver linings of difficult events.

Nothing is more unsettling than learning for the first time that the rock solid institutions you once believed would always prevail are forced into bankruptcy (or the proverbial “mergers of equals” – Takeovers).  When the first couple occurred it was easy to rationalize them (Enron, K-Mart, etc), but when the massive wave of unexpected foundations crumbled (GM, Chrysler, Lehman, Fannie & Freddie, WAMU, etc) it finally awakened the reality that no fixed business is sustainable by design.  This state of fluidity is now the norm and has multiple positive by-products if we embrace it.

As I’ve mentioned, one of the most obvious positive outcomes is the ability for each of us to realign our priorities.  Chasing something we don’t really value is silly, yet we’ve all been guilty (at one time or another) of unnecessarily increasing our debt or frivolously spending what we’ve earned  which ultimately restricts our ability to achieve what we value most.

I once thought it would be easy to sit down and FORCE RANK all of my priorities.  I was wrong, it is an incredibly difficult task. Go ahead–give it a try.  The more you write down, the more more difficult it will be to justify and rank.

Start by listing all the things you like to do rather than all the bills you pay.  It will be easier to identify the things that you are passionate about and value most.  Include things you’ve never done, but always wanted to do (and believed you would do one of these days).  The list will be long, but that is ok.  If you stick with this exercise (it will take you a couple of weeks if you’re like me), you will start to categorize the list in separate buckets and ultimately start to see a few trends or ideas arise that might surprise you.

Once you’ve successfully listed all of the things you value…force rank them.  This is kind of impossible (it’s akin to saying you love one person more than another), but it will force you to make decisions that must be made.  For me, it reinforced the importance of enjoying every opportunity (events, days, family gatherings, etc) rather than just looking forward to the next “big thing”.  When you have 20 something #1 priorities, like I had when I first sat down to do this, you will come to realize no one is in control.

It is painful to come to terms with the fact that we often allow life to unfold around us when we could have made different choices that may have resulted in outcomes closer aligned with our real priorities.  Knowing and ranking our priorities is the first step to correcting this inequity.

Bankruptcies allow companies to make a fresh start (sort of) without the encumbrances of debt. It allows them to redefine or re-engineer their mission, plans, priorities and strategy.  As painful as it is during the process, it facilitates a second chance.  We all deserve and have this same opportunity even without the financial protections this process affords.  It simply starts with a personal list of ranked priorities.

Happy Listing.