Fun is one of the earliest concepts we understand. Long before we can express what it is. Our best friend in our youth, it makes many of our days bright.
As we become adults, fun takes such a strange turn for many of us. Where games were its main domain when we were young, gardening or playing bridge or bird watching now becomes the content of our fun.
Reading a good book, enjoying an engaging conversation or even working on and solving a difficult problem can be fun. Where did the games go? Why did the content change yet the feelings of fun remain the same?
At its core, we are buried in so much more information and activities than during our youth. Where we noticed time as plentiful when we were young, time is never noticed as plentiful later in our lives. It simply moves too fast. We only feel the day that has passed without us having any control.
Fun can be a great teacher. We are always single tasking and focused when we are involved in something that is fun. We aren’t doubting ourselves or embarassed to be part of the activity. We move from fear to acceptance of our possibly failing, just to dance with something that others deem fun.
Fun is very personal. What is fun for you might be boring for me. You love chess or painting on ceramics. I don’t. You love golf, play it every weekend. I don’t. You love going to the mall without necessarily buying anything. I view that as a waste of my time.
While fun’s content varies for each of us, its effect on our soul and well being is the same. Energized, we smile regardless of the effort that our fun demands. Knowing well “feeling refeshed” will magically appear on its completion.
Our productivity can improve greatly when we build a little bit of fun into our week. We can exponentially improve our energy when we can find some fun in each of our days. It’s all in how you look at things. Made much easier when we understand how important fun still needs to be in our lives.