Injecting more fun into our lives can lead to improved mental and physical health.
Finding delights can enhance playfulness, connections, and gratitude for the joys in life.
Deep dives
Rediscovering Fun Through Deliberate Effort
One Running Club in Massachusetts started engaging in different activities inspired by a podcast episode about injecting playfulness and fun back into life. They organized fun interventions or funter ventures, such as scavenger hunts, to inject more fun into their lives.
The Importance of Fun for Adults
As adults, it can be harder to find pure fun in our lives compared to when we were children. However, deliberate effort can bring back playfulness and fun. Injecting more fun into our lives can lead to improved mental health, increased productivity, and even better physical health.
Defining Fun: Playfulness, Connection, and Flow
Fun is not just about being entertained, but about playfulness, connection, and flow. Playfulness involves a carefree spirit and doing things just for the sake of doing them. Connection refers to engaging in fun activities with others, which enhances social bonds and happiness. Flow is the feeling of being fully immersed and passionately involved in a challenging activity.
Noticing Delights: A Practice for More Fun
Finding delights involves training our brains to notice positive things in our surroundings. Noticing delights can lead to increased playfulness, stronger connections, and a greater sense of presence. It can also enhance resilience and gratitude for the joys in life.
Listener Natalie Robinson was worried she and her fellow running club members weren't having enough fun - life was just getting in the way. But what could she and her friends do? They found inspiration in the two episodes of The Happiness Lab dedicated to Dr Laurie Santos's own quest to regain the fun and playfulness of her youth.
So here's another opportunity to listen to part one of that story again.