Spoonful of Sugar
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom comes from someone practically perfect in every way—Mary Poppins! The Disney classic “Mary Poppins” recently aired on network television during holiday programming. In the movie, there is a popular scene where the main character, Mary Poppins, asks the two children that she nannies to tidy up their nursery. Cleaning the nursery was a task the children weren’t altogether excited about the prospect of. I’ve watched this movie more times than I can count, but something about this time around and the way the scene opened reminded me of hotels and housekeeping. And then not only hotels, but work in general! Work is work, right? It’s sometimes hard to swallow, and, given the option, we can think of a lot of things we might rather be doing. But Mary Poppins found a way to make work fun for her troops and herself (below are the lyrics to Mary Poppins’ cheerful song and her words of Wednesday Wisdom).
What are some ways you add fun to your work and help the medicine go down? What are the elements of fun in your job? How might you help others find the fun?
A Spoonful of Sugar (from “Mary Poppins”)
“In every job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap!
The job’s a game
And every task you undertake
Becomes a piece of cake
A lark! A spree! It’s very clear to see that
A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down-wown
The medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way