Why You Should Get Serious About Having Fun
“Choosing to have a good time with your friends instead of a good time with other people is one of the best decisions you can make. Friends are Awesome and they will always be there for you no matter what.” – Author Unknown
Who doesn’t enjoy having fun? There is a saying that says: time flies when we are having fun and it really seems to feel that way. The fun just doesn’t seem to last long enough and before we know it, the time is gone and the fun is over for a while. Of course, we can’t always be having fun – nothing would get done and we probably wouldn’t appreciate the experience since it would become commonplace and ultimately pointless and boring.
Fun has its place and can play important roles in our daily lives. It can make a dull chore more interesting and can motivate us to do more. Fun can break up the seriousness of life’s challenges and even offer solutions. And fun can even be a great teacher and help us to learn in ways that may appear unconventional. Often there is more to fun than simply having fun.
Let’s look at some of the benefits that fun can bring us.
Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. –Dr. Seuss
The Benefits of Fun
It Can Make You Smarter
Fun by its very nature stimulates the mind and promotes brain growth. It improves memory and concentrations as well as opens us up to new ideas, concepts, and ways of doing things. Fun helps us to be more creative and also more flexible in how we think. Reading for pleasure is one example of how an enjoyable activity can help us become “smarter” since reading improves our language skills and other abilities as well. Participating in or doing an activity out of pure enjoyment can help us to be more creative problem solvers, by giving us the environment we need to process information.
It Can Make You Feel Youthful and Energetic
Fun vitalizes and stress drains. Pent up stress drains our energy and can make us tired, impatient and irritable. Stress also has a negative impact on our hormone levels which need to be in shape to feel energetic. So, this is where the fun – play- comes in. It doesn’t matter whether it is work, school or home, we need to play. We need to do activities that are enjoyable and stimulating. Everyone, no matter what his or her age, can benefit from becoming child-like again and letting go of pretenses, expectations, obligations and whatever else holds us back in order to just have fun. George Bernard Shaw wrote:
We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
It Reduces Stress and Defuses Tense Situations
Play and having fun are great stress relievers and can even help to diffuse those tense situations where you can literally “slice through the air with a knife”. Think about family tensions or a business meeting where emotions are high, stakes are high and the wrong word or even look could send the situation into a tailspin. Imagine what having a little fun could do, what a well-timed joke or story could do. A little bit of laughter, laughing at ourselves can break up the tension. It is quite hard to be irritable with someone who is having a little fun. Imagine how a little joyful laughter could change the mood of the situation. It is so important not to take ourselves, or anything for that matter, too seriously.
It Builds Relationships and Strengthens Relationship Bonds
Relationships depend on closeness and interdependence. Fun (play) can strengthen the bonds in our relationships (family, friends, community, and work) and build trust. When trust is built up, our support system is also built up. Communication is frequently an area that people struggle within relationships, but having fun and taking a less than serious outlook on life can help enormously with communication. When we are having fun, we are naturally more relaxed and more open to the ideas of others as well as more in control of our emotions. Adding a spirit of childlike fun can bring a breath of fresh air to our relationships.
It Helps Us Deal with Problems
It is hard to find solutions to problems or deal with them when we are locked into them or feel completely overwhelmed by them. We feel so attached to the problem that we can not see it from the outside. But what we really need is a break from problems. Taking a break to just have fun deliberately can be a refreshing way to gain a new perspective. We can even turn problem-solving into a game and assign ourselves to a character. Or we can simply give ourselves permission to take a “vacation” away from our worries and do something that is enjoyable. Just by “getting away” and having fun we can sometimes find new creative solutions that we might not have seen otherwise. Sometimes problems can even dissipate when we realize that they weren’t so catastrophic after all.
It Clears the Mind
Having fun is a great way to take our minds off of our cares for a bit and clear out all the baggage. It stimulates our brain, increases blood circulations, energizes us and gets us thinking in a different mindset. The focus is enjoyment and the result is that it quite simply gives us a break. Physical activity is a great way to have fun and increase blood flow as well. when we are having fun doing what we are doing, whatever that activity may be, we get rid of the negative thinking and emotions to make way for new positive ways of thinking.
It Gives Us a Restorative Break
Having fun gives us a restorative break and helps our body and our mind take preventative measures against exhaustion and burnout. Resting is good, but so is a change of pace. engaging in fun activities whether in a personal context or a professional context allows us to have breathing space away from pressures. It is like taking a mini-vacation.
I am going to keep having fun every day I have left, because there is no other way of life. You just have to decide whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore. – Randy Pausch
10 Ideas to Have Fun
Dance around the house
Grab a good book to read
Have a pillow fight
Make pizza or bread
Go see a comedy movie or play
Invite friends over for a themed dinner
Take up a new sport
Get outside and walk around town
Have a karaoke night
Make playDoh and have fun creating
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Diana’s passions are family, travel, self-improvement, living a debt-free/financially free life. She also loves hanging out with family, friends and being with her dog, Skye. You can connect with her through livingandstuff.ca
