The dictionary definition of fun does not capture its life-affirming energy, science journalist Catherine Price says.
She believes we should make more room in our lives for fun and has written a book on the subject; The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again.
Failure to make time for fun in our lives is no laughing matter. We hit a certain age and we forget how to let go and laugh without fear of judgement, she tells Jesse Mulligan.
Photo: Levi Guzman/Unsplash
“The dictionary definition will say something like light-hearted pleasure or pleasant distraction, something like that.
“But I realised what people were describing to me was much more powerful.”
She has come up with her own definition of fun.
“True fun, as I call it, is the combination of three states; and those are playfulness, connection and flow.”
Playfulness refers to having a light-hearted attitude, she says.
“Where you don't care too much about the ultimate outcome of what you're doing. You can care a little bit, we've all had the experience where you're playing a game that's fun, and you want to win, but then someone gets too serious. And then it's not fun anymore.
“So, I'm talking about that sweet spot where you're not caring too much, and you're letting go of perfectionism.”
Connectedness is a key element she believes
“In the vast majority of examples that people shared with me, there was another person or another living creature, like a dog or a cat involved in people's memories of fun. And that was true for introverts as well as extroverts.”
Flow is the third element, Price says.
“Flow is being so engrossed in your present experience, actively engaged in your present experience, that you lose track of time.
“So that's what you think of when you think of athlete in the midst of a game, very different from the hypnosis we fall into when we lose track of time, scrolling through social media, that's what's called junk flow. It's very different.”
Some activities may distract us but are not in the true spirit of fun, she says.
“I think of it as like fun junk food, where they're really compelling. Social media is a great example, you're drawn to it and you want to consume it, it gives you initial hit of pleasure, but then it quickly wears off, and you end up feeling disgusting, it’s fake fun.
“And the importance of learning to distinguish these two things is that once you know how to identify true fun, and separate it from fake fun, then you can eliminate the fake fun. It's the low hanging fruit. And that will leave you with more time and energy for the good stuff.”
Adults tend to see fun for fun’s sake as childish, she says.
“I was reading an article about a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, was written by a palliative care worker.
And one of those top 5 regrets was, ‘I wish I'd let myself be happier’. And I just thought, that's something we all need to hear now, while we're still alive, and not on our deathbeds.”
It might sound counter intuitive, but she recommends an un-fun sounding ‘fun audit’.
if you leave it as this abstract, nebulous concept, it's useless, really.
“You'll appreciate it [fun] when you have it, but you won't know how to have more of it. So, the fun audit was the first step in this step-by-step plan I created to help people have more fun.”
Make a note of activities and people who you consistently enjoy being with, she says.
“Once you start to recognise these themes, and what I call fun magnets, which is to say the people and the activities and the settings that typically generate fun for you personally, then you can turn fun from this abstract concept, into something you can actually prioritise on your calendar and set aside time for.”
