A Fun Plan
I’m serious about fun. It’s a crucial part of my overall wellness plan. And life plan. I’m committed to having fun, finding fun and creating fun. Where there’s fun there’s (a greater chance of) happiness, health and harmony and why wouldn’t I want that? Why wouldn’t any of us want that?
The Health Benefits of Fun
As I’ve mentioned on this site before, the science of PNI (psychoneuroimmunology) teaches us that people who have regular fun are less likely to get sick and when they do, they will recover faster. When they break bones, they’ll heal quicker too. Not only do the Fun Brigade have a stronger immune system, but they also have a psychological, emotional, physiological and even sociological advantage over their grumpy, fun-less friends. After all, who wants to hang out with people who can’t find a way to have some fun?
Not me.
As an observer of humanity, it seems to me that some people are either, too important, too distracted, too intelligent, too busy or too old to have fun. How sad. And unnecessary. 
“I’ll allow myself to have some fun once I achieve my financial goals” someone told me recently. Hmm, where did he learn that ‘wisdom’? Imagine inhabiting a mindset that won’t permit fun until you’ve reached certain economic markers or performance targets. What happens when the economic landscape changes? Do you re-evaluate those financial targets, thereby pushing back the ETA of… fun?
Good grief man.
Let’s Be Frank
I have an older friend. His name is Frank. Frank rocks. He’s eighty-three and rides a motorbike. Which is cool. But what’s even cooler is that Frank went for lessons and got his motorbike license (for the first time) at eighty years of age. And when I say motorbike, I’m not talking about some lame-arse scooter. No, I’m talking about a hog. Specifically, a Harley. Frank is committed to fun and to not ‘acting’ his age.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw
How true.
Choosing Fun
I believe fun is a choice. A mindset. A decision. A commitment. A way of looking at the world. Of interpreting information. Of reacting to the goings-on around us. Of managing one’s emotional and cerebral landscapes. Of creating our own reality and labeling our own experiences. Fun is a philosophy and a way of life – when we make it so.
What It Isn’t
At the same time, being committed to fun doesn’t mean a life devoid of hard work, pain, suffering or problems. Of course. Being committed to fun is not some naïve, immature, irresponsible, selfish or impractical approach to life. On the contrary, it’s quite possibly the most intelligent, realistic, generous and healthy model for living. I’ve worked with people living in poverty and people suffering from terminal diseases who are committed to having fun every day. In my experience, fun has little to do with the situation, the circumstance and the environment (we find ourselves in) and a lot to do with the person in the middle of it all.
Gauging Success
I often wonder why many success coaches and performance experts seem to evaluate success in terms of all the external stuff: bank balances, assets, accomplishments, titles, reputations. Sure, it’s nice to have some cool stuff and there’s nothing wrong with being obscenely wealthy 
but if all our accomplishments don’t add up to fun are we really successful?
If success doesn’t involve a large fun component, then I don’t want it.
You? 
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My own observations have taught me that even those who endure hardship and persecution at a levet that most of us have only encountered whilst sitting in a comfy cinema chair, if even then, cope much better when they have managed to hold onto their sense of humour and can participate in a bit of fun.
agree
Amen to that!
How dreary life would be without some fun and laughter . . .
I point out in orientation every year at work that fun activities should be a part of work-life balance and it doesn’t have to cost alot of money either. Grabbing sandwiches and eating in the park solo or with a friend is cheap and a nice break from the routine. My hubbie and I plan a weekend trip every few months to have something to look forward to and be excited about. It might be a resort hotel stay or it might be camping in a tent in a state park, depending on our finances. I encourage them to be creative and to plan fun things to do (big and small, 15 minutes or a glorious week long vacation) on a continual basis to maintain a balanced life.
I’m with Frank on that one!
So true!
Life is too short……live laugh have FUN!!!
I agree totally!
I love the part “In my experience, fun has little to do with the situation, the circumstance and the environment (we find ourselves in) and a lot to do with the person in the middle of it all.” I’m a classic example of a person who’s currently in a “different” situation to most. I could feel sorry for myself but instead I’ve CHOSEN to be happy. Infact, I’m alot happier now than I ever was when my life was “normal”.
It’s a mindset thingo.
Yep and it’s good if something that you happen to be working on is also fun, for you.
Fun doesn’t have to be something you go outside and do although having said that, I had some really unexpected fun when a ticket seller on a amusement ride ruled out my son as being too small for a ride on the cars. ‘You can go instead and he can sit next to you,’ he said, staring at me expectantly.
Of course I couldn’t disappoint Mr 6 yr old so off we went and wow, was it fun!! Apparently there’s no ‘too big rule’ on that amusement ride and thank goodness.
Mon
so how do I do this in reality in the everyday. i work 2 jobs and in between that and chopping wood/feeding kids & animals/being sport mum taxi/clearing up block & building theres little fun to be had. ok if i had to schedule ‘fun’ ive kinda forgotton what that would entail! apart from having a drink with my friends which usually ends up in a headache and too many D&M conversations! lol.
Totally agree Mon.. Well I work 2 jobs…and one of these is a data analyst..
do I make this fun _ HELL YEAH!
As my boss said gez kate you are so different from the other propellor heads.. and well blowing my own trumphet clients are like you are so much fun I want to meet you.. whereas the other ppls clients are always escalated..or given to me as difficult.. the thing is they arent difficult just human….
What do I do diferent…
Well weather it be outlining in HOT pink what they did wrong, making a joke of it or a light and easy approach .. when I have the opportunity I chuck it in there after all I am here anwyay
When I present i turn it on…and relate…
Now my second job as fitness instructor again iS FUN! r.. am i the worlds best techinical instructor HELL NO.. but when you come to my class you sure as hell will have fun and want to come back… Why because I dont want to do it unless it is FUN!
Why because I do love it….
These are the best years!
Craig, I disagree with this post. Fun is not fun if we do it because. That is to say, true fun and genuine enjoyment in life cannot be another goal in our planning-and-control-crazed society like we do with material success.
Fun cannot be yet another accomplishment. Rather, we need to allow it to happen to us.
Plus, the sentence “I’m serious about fun” is already an oxymoron.
When I’m at work I find it difficult to have fun, everyone is covering their backs all the time in case they get picked up on having done something wrong. Depressing! (Or is that just how I see things?) I’m working on an escape plan, but it may take a couple of years to come to fruition. Outside of work I enjoy life, maybe in a quiet kind of way, but still fun to me. It’s subjective, isn’t it? I love exercise classes – Kate, yours sounds great!
I really had to think about this one, but after having a bit of a scratch and a think, I define fun as being: A spontaneous form of enjoyment, which brings unplanned happiness or pleasure. With out preconcieved ideas as to how “good” it should be
If we plan for fun, that to me is entertainment, that is when we have a level of expectation as to how good this should be and can possibly lead to disappointment. eg: It was a great night last, But only if —!. So was that fun or a bad night out?
another line of thinking I have is, people say I am a happy sort of person who loves to have a bit of fun. but does that make me a funny person?
Maybe this could be a talking point at MBE this weekend
Hey Craig !!
Ooh yeah ! Fun is my number one requirement in life ! Just yesterday someone sent me one of those silly emails that asks a heap of questions with multiple choice answers and then your score tells you “which celebrity you are”. (Apparently I’m Grace Kelly.) Anyway, one of the questions was:
10. Of the following, who would you rather spend time with?
a) Someone who is smart
B) Someone with good looks
C) Someone who is a party animal
D) Someone who has fun all the time
E) Someone who is very emotional
F) Someone who is fun to be with
The highest number of points (6) went to F), which, of course was my answer.
Bill and I just did one of those “glamour” photo shoots today and along with all the formal poses and “pretty” looks, we did some with me in gym gear with dumbells and Bill with his golf clubs. They were fun !!
Wanna have a look ?
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200797&id=742884269&l=e8eaf31fcc
{{HUG}}
Tina
I like the “Fun Scale” of Type I and Type II fun.
http://kellycordes.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/the-fun-scale/
I agree with you. Life’s too short to be worrying too much. People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. Work also seems lighter when you’re having fun.
Discovering True Happiness Within You.
Catherine,
I do relate.. to ppl at work always covering backs etc.. personally I think this is sort of amusing when put into perspective…Sometimes when I am witnessing this a sort of circus tune comes into my mind… and well I tend to just take it lightly..
Fun is whatever you find fun! no one else can define that for you. Enjoy it..
Kate
Wow this is a fantastic article! Most people focus on external things like money and if they are more enlightened they focus on happiness. What the people who focus on happiness neglect is that fun is the external expression of that happiness and also an ‘activity’ to persue in and of itself! Fun is on the other side of the coin to happiness and an essential part of it – it causes true fulfilment in life!
Fun is an attitude, and you need to make every moment fun rather than wait for it to come to you. Every moment should be fun. Look at how kids have fun and model them. Even the serious things can still be fun (but you may need to keep a straight face sometimes!)
I most certainly agree with Mark.
Fun is an attitude.
I am fond of saying to clients that “It’s your attitude and not your aptitude that determines your altitude”.
How far you get in life and how happy you are is not a function of how many “toys” (read: external trappings of success) you have.
It is a state of mind. It is being present and in the moment.