CHAPTER 15


Have More Fun

When you hear the phrase “Have more fun,” what comes to mind? Do you see having fun as being childish, irresponsible, or careless? Or do you think that you’re too busy for fun? “I really don’t have time. Me having fun would just be selfish. I have too much to do.”

Is there really no room for fun in your life? Even if you could really use a laugh?

For the sake of this chapter, I’m referring to the times you feel overwhelmed with life. For example, the following are all crystal clear indicators that it’s time to get some belly laughs in, get off your ass, and just generally enjoy more of life:

• When your focus becomes narrow and your to-do list feels like the be all and end all of your existence.
• When something feels like a really big deal, but when you sit down to really think about it, it’s not.
• When you flat out think to yourself, “I wish I was having more fun.”

(I’m not saying that if you’re in a place of serious despair or grief, it’s time to watch hilarious YouTube videos or make jokes about your situation. Absolutely not! Honor your feelings at times like those.)

I don’t need to give you scientific stats of how having fun makes people healthier, more beautiful, blah, blah, blah. I would bet mucho dinero you already know that having fun makes you feel happier and freer. I don’t care if you’re an uber-serious, buttoned-up investment banker. Or a constipated librarian (no offense, librarians). Having fun is within every single person, including you.

The thing about life, and especially about personal development, is sometimes it can seem to get pretty damn serious. When things get deep and we have moments of self learning, many times there are tears. Trust me, I know. In my opinion, if you’re not learning at least some of the time, you’re not living, At the same time, a lot of learning about your life and yourself can seem pretty serious. Don’t let all that seriousness and hard work bog you down. Laugh a little. Having fun gives you distance from, and maybe some perspective on, a problem you’re having. It reminds you of what’s right in the world. You can have fun in five minutes or five hours, whatever you’ve got.

Maybe you have no idea if you need more fun in your life or not. Let’s start there and answer these questions:

• On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most, how much fun are you having on a regular basis (on average)?
• Do you think at the end of your life you might say, “I wish I had had more fun”?
• Are you envious of other people that are having fun?

Your answers probably gave you an indicator of where you are.

So, ask yourself … what’s fun to you?

This in itself is a loaded topic. I’m not here to give you a list of things that are fun, because fun tastes vary widely.

Keep in mind that what is fun for someone else might not be fun for you. Be honest about what you find fun and beware of “shoulds” here. You having fun isn’t about pleasing anyone but you. It’s okay if other people don’t get your kind of fun, or they think it’s weird. Those people don’t have to adopt your “funness.”

And for some people, fun is an acquired taste. In other words, they need to really dig into something, practice it, give it time to get really good at it before they would consider it really fun. Other people might find something fun from the start, and as they get proficient in it, they get disenchanted with it and the fun-factor is gone. Neither way is wrong or right. The point is to find your fun and have it!