Time for More Fun?

When’s the last time you were on a swing and laughed uncontrollably when you went so high your stomach flipped? Or were on a roller coaster and heard the sound of the last clack at the top of the hill before you felt the weightlessness of that first swoop downwards? Or did something crazy and silly just for the fun of it?

If it’s been a while, you’re not the Lone Ranger.

Then let’s complicate life by things happening out of your control, like politics and inflation, that raise stress levels and play havoc with your health. Being troubled by headaches, fatigue, nervousness, and fatigue can be sure indicators: it’s time for more fun.

What’s Fun?

True fun can be so many things. NPR asked readers to share what fun was for them. There was a delectably wide range of activities that came up, from raising reptiles to learning to play the guitar to a water balloon fight. A few months ago, I picked up a bubbles wand and watched the sparkly bubbles float in the air as the Duff tried to catch them. That’s fun!

Ways To Create More Fun In Your Life

• What’s your “fun magnet?” Get off your phone, and go back in time. Recall three of four memories when you had real fun. You know, that feeling where you lose track of time and enjoy being in the moment. Not a care in the world as you are delighting in being yourself doing whatever you’re doing.
• Look for common threads: what kind of people, where did these memories take place, what kind of activities were they? Are there things you could do that would be similar that you’d like to try? Is it time to whittle away the stuff that isn’t fun? One couple loves to go yard sailing. They never know what treasures they’ll find or people they’ll meet.
• Put fun on the calendar. I know, I know. Scheduling fun? Isn’t fun supposed to be spontaneous? Especially when you’re first starting out, you look at your schedule and think,” I’m overbooked already!” I have a friend who loves rock climbing. The schedule wouldn’t allow for it until she started to pencil herself in. Now, she tosses her gear in the car, and off she goes.
• Time to unplug for awhile. Pay attention to how much time you spend scrolling or mindlessly watching TV. The average American puts in more than two hours a day on social media. You might think about a positive use of your time by bringing in one thing from the past that brought you joy. One man took up ham radio in his spare time.
• Real fun involves sensory experiences. When were the times you got out of your head and into your body? Or felt that effortless wonder of being in nature? Or being out on the water? One lady loves moonlight kayaking in a group. She went during the last full moon and just glowed when she talked about it. Another man described being puzzled by his daughter’s fascination with Taylor Swift. He took her to a concert, and the rest is history.

How about you? Time to make a habit of having more fun in your world? The Mountain has so much to offer. Go for it! Live unstuck.