Find a Puddle!

My family spent the weekend at Walt Disney World, just taking a quick break and visiting the theme parks on Saturday. As is the norm in Florida this time of year, there were afternoon showers. Fortunately, the rain hit as we were on the bus back to the resort. We had planned on spending a couple hours in the pool once we got back.

One of the great things about Disney is everything is themed. The pool areas at the resort where we were staying had a large, beautiful pool with the figures of the ‘Three Amigos’ in the center that sprayed water in different directions. It’s cute and kitschy and there’s always plenty of kids in the pool area.

So when we stepped through the doors into the pool area on our way back to the room, I had to laugh as I saw some small kids playing in a puddle left in the aftermath of the rain. It was right in front of this big beautiful pool, yet their attention was on splashing and playing in a rainwater puddle instead. I grabbed my phone and snapped a quick photo.

When I asked why were they in the puddle instead of the pool, their response was simply, “It’s fun!” (I think the ‘duh!’ was implied.)

I think it’s a nice lesson for all of us. We can get really serious at the office, and sometimes we forget that an occasional break to simply have fun will go a long way to motivate our team (and ourselves!). Take some time to think of a game or two and spend a few minutes at your next team meeting doing something other than work. It can even be work-related, but the point is it should be something fun and amusing that simply lightens the mood.

Take some time to get out of the pool and play in a puddle. Have fun!