True Fun
In The Power of Fun, author Catherine Price defines “True Fun” (as opposed to “Fake Fun”, like scrolling through social media) as requiring a combination of Connection, Playfulness, and Flow. (Flow is your state when you are fully absorbed in an activity). I think she’s generally right in this definition. I realized long ago that activities that I find really fun, like skiing and bodysurfing, are much more fun when shared with a friend (Connection). And if your mind is elsewhere (not in Flow) then you’re almost certainly not really having fun.
It is clear that fun is different than happiness, and is also different than things you enjoy. You can enjoy reading a book, eating a good meal, listening to a lecture, or watching a sunset, but you wouldn’t necessarily call them fun.
Now think about children playing in the waves at a beach, laughing and screaming with delight — they’re clearly having fun. How about riding a rollercoaster? Laughing with friends at standup comedy? Dancing at a music festival with friends? Playing your favorite sport? For most people, these activities go beyond being enjoyable and making them happy — they would be classified as fun.
Author Price lists ways that people often describe fun: being happy and excited, involving laughter, having a feeling of freedom or letting go. That you feel fully absorbed and present, often with a boost of energy. That it gives you a feeling of childlike excitement and joy, and is often a shared, special experience.
So: How much fun are you having? Think back to your childhood, and compare it to your current life. I’ll bet that while you may be content or even happy now, you are probably not engaging in as much fun as you did then. Adult responsibilities have crept in, we have become more self-conscious and less carefree, and our electronics with their never-ending stream of things to watch and read have become our typical default for how we spend any free time.
Wouldn’t you like to have more fun?
In Happiful, we create our own personal Happy List and put in writing all the things that make us happy. This inspires us to make time for those activities that make us happy, and especially to give us alternatives to spending our precious spare time with electronics.
Now let’s create our True Fun List, so we can work to get more of these peak experiences into our lives. Get out a piece of paper and start writing your True Fun List.
As an example, here’s what’s on my personal True Fun list:
Bodysurfing
Hiking somewhere new and exciting
Stand up paddling
Snorkeling
Skiing
Scuba diving
Bowling
Volleyball
Tennis
Ping pong
Sailing
Whitewater Rafting
Amusement park rides
In-person Duke basketball games
Music festivals
When making your list, some things will likely come to mind right away. Here are some prompts that can help you expand on your list.
When have you had True Fun in the past week? What were you doing? Who were you with?
How about the past month? The past year? (You may want to scroll through your photos or calendar to remind yourself.)
When in your life have you laughed the hardest? What were you doing? Who were you with?
What hobbies, sports, or activities did you love when you were younger?
What are some moments from your life in which you felt the most alive? What were you doing? Who were you with?
Now that you have your True Fun List, the next step is to figure out how you can do more of the things on the list. While awareness of what is True Fun for you is an important start, just hoping to have more fun isn’t likely to happen. Depending on what’s on your True Fun List, you’ll need to take some action to make it happen.
Could you schedule a game night with friends every week? Join a sports team? Plan a weekend day trip to an amusement park? A good goal is to try to have something fun on your calendar every week.
Create your True Fun List now, and add more True Fun into your life!
