What’s Fun Got To Do With It?

I often think to myself what’s fun got to do with being an adult? Why am I so fascinated by this act and making it intentional? Well, the reason is fun brings out good feelings such as joy, happiness, and light-heartedness. As we adult we forget to have fun because we forgot what it feels like. We get so caught up in “what” we are doing day to day that we forget HOW TO BE!

How do you want to BE living your life?

For many of us there are checklists for checklists that never get done and we put ourselves into this vortex of the daily grind, but what would come up if you put yourself in timeout to think about how you are living? Are you stressed out, worried all the time, exhausted, tired of feeling guilty, feeling like you can’t see the light anymore?

Well, let me tell you something…YOU CAN CHANGE THAT! It’s in your power to decide to be spontaneous, to sit in your car for 2 minutes alone to sing your favorite song, to dance in your kitchen and have your kids join in, to swing at the park, to stay in the bathroom a bit longer to read 2 more pages, or whatever takes you from stressed out you into a place of joy. Even if it’s just for a minute. Celebrate that minute!

You can get out of the vortex anytime you want because it’s your choice.

It just takes small steps with meaningful moments to wake up the kid inside. Once you have a glimpse of fun and make it intentional, you start to celebrate those small moments even more. This may take you out of your comfort zone of stress and worry, so find a way to constantly connect to the “why” you are wanting more fun in your life. Maybe it is a word or a quote you have in your office, or on your home screen of your cell phone that can be a constant reminder. One thing I have the women do in my workshop, Cultivate Fun While Aging, is to write a new rule(s) to live by and post it up on the fridge. Have your family join in and hold you accountable.

Have you seen the movie ‘Yes Day’? It’s hilarious and spot on for how we move from a “Yes” period of our life to an “Absolutely Not” type of adulting. A quote from the movie that I love is, “Maybe by being a lil less serious, we can make things better.” It’s so true! We do this to ourselves. We accept being stressed, exhausted, etc. Aren’t you tired of it? It’s time to change your beliefs so you can change your reality. We are better humans when we are happy and having fun. It’s part of our biological make-up. We aren’t built to be stressed out all the time, it is chipping away at us.

Our health is impacted when we put the pressure on ourselves to be all the things or to do all the things. When do you ask for help? Is it when you have reached the boiling point of frustration and exhaustion? If so, then it’s time to set some boundaries. Remember the way we feel impacts those around us. They feel our energy and may even absorb it.

So, let’s go through some steps you can take to have more fun in your life and become a vibrational being of joy. You deserve this!

Close your eyes and think about a moment you were having fun and laughing. What were you doing? How were you feeling? How did that moment impact your loved ones? How were you being in their presence? Jot your answers down.

What stands out the most to you as you reflect on those questions?

Now jot down some things you do or remember doing that were fun. Some examples may be:

Roller skating, reading a book in a hammock, riding a rollercoaster, getting a massage, singing karaoke, learning a new card game, running, cooking, etc.

It’s whatever you want or imagine fun being. This is for you to decide based on your definition of fun.

Now rank each fun thing on a scale of 1-10; 1 being you never do this for fun and wish you could more often and 10 being I do this all the time. Circle your highest and lowest.

Take your lowest ranked item and ask yourself how could I move this up by 2 points? How would that impact my life? How would you be different?

Take your highest ranked item and ask yourself how it shows up in your life. What about it makes it important? What do you feel when you are doing this?

Now that you have identified some ways to bring more fun into your life, its time to write a new rule(s) to live by. As you went through the activity above, what did you learn about yourself? What is a realistic small step that you could take that would impact having more fun in your life? That is your first new rule to live by. Write down whatever comes up for you. After you are done connecting with yourself first, ask your family to join in and write family fun rules together.

It’s time to stop reserving fun for vacations and/or the weekends.

I challenge you to start thinking about having fun moments throughout the week as well. Remember we are each a product of our own belief system, so make fun an intentional part of your life. You will thank yourself later and I bet your loved ones will too.