Ask Harry #10: Harry, what do you do for fun?

After my Kellogg students and executive program participants read my third book, Your 168: Finding Purpose and Satisfaction in a Values-based Life, I am often asked, “Harry, what do you do for fun?” I think the question comes up because I emphasize so much the need to BALANCE all areas of your life (i.e., your career, your family, your religious and spiritual responsibilities, your health, sleep, exercise and trying to make a positive difference while we are on this earth), people start to wonder how I can possibly have any time left for FUN!

I usually tease people by responding that no matter what the question, the answer is always YES! 😁 In all seriousness though, we each have 168 hours in a week, so the key is to figure out what you are going to do and what you are NOT going to do. For example, if someone says they don’t have time to exercise, I will challenge them by saying you have 168 hours, and if your health and exercise is a priority, maybe you should limit the time spent watching television or surfing the internet.

I do think it is important to carve out some time for FUN. Clearly FUN can mean different things to different people. In my case, for example, I found my positions at Baxter and now teaching at Kellogg to be FUN (most of the time 😉) even though technically it was/is WORK.

Okay, so “Harry, what do you do for fun?” My top list for FUN (in a more mainstream definition of the word) includes baseball, movies, plays, and eating chocolate!!! Here are a few recent examples:

Baseball

Julie, Daniel, and I along with some friends went to Sunday’s Chicago Cubs-St Louis Cardinals game at Wrigley Field and the Cubbies won 7-2!!! They swept all 3 games against their arch rival!! Go Cubbies (and yes, I do realize that we are 7.5 games out of first place, but we can dream, right?)

Movies

I am a huge movie fan, especially suspense thrillers like the Bourne series and Mission Impossible. Khalid and I went to see the latest MI movie, “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING, PART ONE”, and the chase scenes and stunts were amazing. Take a look at these behind-the-scenes videos!!

Regarding movies, I should warn you that sometimes people spread bad rumors. For example, there is a rumor that I went to see “Barbie” with Daniel and Julie. Not true!! I must have been photoshopped into this picture!😎

Broadway Plays

Yes, I am a big fan of plays, especially musicals, and more especially, BROADWAY musicals!! During a recent business trip to NYC, I had the opportunity to see “New York, New York” with my sister Marilyn, and it was fantastic!

Eating Chocolate 🍫

Yes, chocolate is definitely a weakness. I have been told by several people that if I didn’t eat chocolate so often I would weigh less than 50 pounds!! 🤣. A good friend sent me the below gif, claiming to have caught me in the act of indulging my love for chocolate. (Again, clearly this must have been Photoshopped🧐).