Let’s get serious really fast: We don’t want to regret anything about this life, right?
If we do a quick audit about what we’d like to change about our life, I’m guessing we’d like to have had more fun, feel sad that we used to have fun and feel apprehensive that our future might not have much fun in it.
Overshare: I started watching The Golden Girls in 1985 and I was HOOKED and I’ve been hooked ever since. The four ladies brought us for a seven-year fun fest! More recent shows like Grace & Frankie continue to show us that we want to have fun at all ages.
When I worked in long-term care, I saw so many people having zero levels of fun. Nobody wants to have ZERO FUN. But we all have different ideas of what is fun.
The idea of fun at each of our ages has been a subject that has fascinated me through life. Different people at different ages have different ideas of what they consider “fun”.
Overshare: As a teen, I could not relate to what my peers considered fun. Amusement parks inspired fear in me. Video games seemed bland. Board games were a little overwhelming because I was used to losing… Needless to say, finding fun was a little tricky. But I did see that it’s a personal thing and we can put some effort into developing our own fun.
Today, I would like to read a quick and easy magazine article that makes Fun attainable to everyone!
Let’s do this!
Friendly reminder: I’m not a fun specialist. I have never studied recreation and leisure – though I kind of wish I did! That would be AWESOME!! And I’m not a psychologist or therapist.
Do we still know how to have fun? I think we all deserve to ask Ourself* when the last time we had actual safe fun was. I think we also think we can ask Ourself what are fun-blockers are.
Overshare: I like going through the time machine of my life and tag the times I had fun in my life from the the youngest I can remember to the present. I love remembering the running through sprinklers on hot days and trying to makeshift a pool. I like that as the feeling to aspire to as my fun-level #8 🙂
The Fun-Blockers
Fun-Blockers are essentially excuses that keep us from having fun and we’ve got millions of reasons to keep Ourself from having fun. Maybe it’s our focus on the negative around us and how we just might be prioritizing all that we don’t want over what we do want.
Well, I want to have fun.
Real fun.
Every. Single. Day.
I do NOT want to waste a SINGLE DAY of fun! But I also want to be smart, practical, productive and so much more! I also want to be smart and responsible, live a good life and live a life that I will love.
And, let’s not forget the things that happen for which we have little to no control: #Happenings
We all know that there are so many things that can keep us from having fun. Well, I don’t love having these obstacles. I like that I can do to make fun possible. I have a hand in making it happen!
Let’s look for some ways to bring fun into our lives, shall we?
ONE: Spontaneous
I did a short unofficial survey with people around me about some of the best and funnest times they have ever had to find the most important component to fun and it is spontaneity.
TWO: Giving things a chance (but don’t be stupid)
As humans, I feel we have a tendency to keep things safe and we often repeat what we know works for us. The thing with fun is that what was fun when we were 5 might not work at 25 or 45, or 85. So, we have to change things us, right?
There are developments in games and different people have different ideas that they can share with us.
THREE: Open to discovery
So, if we give things a chance, we’re open to discovery, right?
For this one however, I like to consider that discovery is more being open to things we might just discover as we walk around without even trying. We’re observing and seeing opportunities, like walking and spotting a happy dog who’s joy makes us giggle.
FOUR: Embracing the season, not bitching about it
Overshare: You may know that I live in Montreal. We have 4 distinct seasons. I once went to a café where a newcomer to our region was my barista. He was pretty thrown off about the snow since he’s from L.A.. We had the chance to talk about how to truly enjoy soup on a cold day, check out the possible sports available, hosting dinner parties with friends, and so much more!
We can’t change the weather. There. I said it.
FIVE: Yes, let’s!
When I studied Improv, I learned that the first rule of Improv is to always say “Yes, let’s!” and not shoot people down when they offer up something to the scene.
This may sound really simplistic, but the reality of it is, a lot of people shoot down other people’s ideas without even realizing it! From dinner ideas to project plans, we shoot others down A LOT!
Improv taught me to notice that.
I should clarify that not all propositions are worth going with! We can say some really stupid stuff sometimes! But I do believe that awareness of our own use of “No” is important.
I’d like to add that in the cases when we shoot people down, sometimes a little cushioning is good for them not to feel that their idea is rejected, because none of us like to be rejected constantly, right?
SIX: Listening to what others want and go with it 🙂
We cannot always lead the parade. Sometimes, we are best to follow the parade and contribute.
SEVEN: Open to being turned down, and not taking it personally
I often hear about people being worried that if they invite someone, they’re scared to be turned down. I think we can all relate to that!
Overshare: I remember when I was going out and meeting people when I was new to town as a young adult, there was A LOT of putting myself out there and I am soooooo grateful I did! Sure, a lot of those encounters didn’t turn into anything, but I treasure those that did! I was willing to make an ass out of myself and voila!
Can I say that a lot of us might be set in our ways and have our set playlist of what we like and we might not super-feel like going beyond that?
Could some of us be kinda stuck in that playlist and in sore need of some lively updates?
So, there’s a chance that the one we want to invite to participate is possibly stuck in their playlist! And maybe our suggestion might wiggle something up!
Overshare: A friend got me into improv and I got a few more friends into improv after I got to feel the benefits for me. I wouldn’t have taken it personally if my friends would have rejected the idea and many did. But those who did it got to live something new 🙂
EIGHT: Open to suggestions!
So, it turns out that improv is a big theme in this MiniBook 😛
Have you ever been to an improv show? The players often ask for a couple of suggestions like a place and a relationship. The crowd shouts a bunch of words and the players choose two and run with it! I haven’t witnessed any Improv show where the players say: No. Those words aren’t good enough.
They will try to make something work with a laundromat and your hot cousin.
And being open to suggestions is a big part of having fun!
NINE: Steer away from ruining fun-portunities
Fun-portunities are everywhere! I love having a few trinkets in my purse and pencil case that I can play with or entertain others with.
“No” is a fun-ruinner.
TEN: There are no guarantees, so don’t wait for them!
Right?!?
Party-On!
Party-on everyone! Today is worth celebrating!
Karine 🙂
*Ourself: A word I like to use even though it’s technically not a word. I believe it should be because we are our own self.