Have More Fun

Do you look enviously at other people enjoying themselves? Do you wonder where the fun has gone in your life?

That may seem a daft question - surely enjoying yourself isn't some sort of skill that you need to learn, it just happens doesn't it? But if you wait for fun to 'just happen' it generally doesn't. Having fun probably doesn't appear on your to do list because there are more important things in life?

The pressure to 'do something useful'

It's true that in our competitive, high achieving world, we all face a lot of pressure to be seen to be engaged in useful activities. Of course we all have our various obligations to fulfill, but this devotion to 'being useful' leads us to push other things that we might like to do into the background. And this is a mistake.

Why you should aim to have more fun

Because, in spite of the widespread denigration of 'non useful' activities, we know quite well that healthy, well-functioning individuals have a balance in their lives. We feel good when we can usefully contribute in our families and societies. But we also feel good when we relax and have fun, alone or together. This recharges our batteries, and actually energizes us so that we can be more effectively 'useful'.

The science behind having fun

Research has shown that not only does the anticipation of having a good laugh boost the body's production of beta-endorphins (the so-called 'feel good' chemicals in the brain), it also measurably reduces the level of the stress hormone cortisol. (1) So actively setting out to have good experiences that make you laugh will have a measurable effect on your health.

If you've fallen into a pattern of focusing on your obligations to the exclusion of all other concerns, or if you're just in the habit of waiting until someone else suggests a fun activity, it can feel rather daunting to contemplate exactly how to set about having more fun in your life.