What Is Your Definition of Fun?

You can’t have fun without it

You don't stop having fun when you get old, you get old when you stop having fun. — Ritu Ghatourey

Fun is supposed to be, well…fun. It shouldn’t be a rough ride, although those off-road adventures can actually be fun.

Have you ever struggled to enjoy what used to be fun? Have you ever stopped to think about how long it has been since you really had fun? Was it too long ago?

Let’s talk about what fun is, how we can sometimes get stuck, and how to get back on the trail. There is enough fun out here for everyone!

Watching TV

Let’s watch something fun!

What would be your choice? What do you have fun watching on TV?

Maybe you would choose a show about something you like to do for fun when you aren’t watching TV, like cooking or sports? Maybe a comedy? Laughing is fun, or at least it is an indicator that we are having fun. Right?

At my house, when I say to my husband, Let’s watch something fun, it is code for —let’s stop watching YouTube car videos or the sports channels so we can watch something I like. He is already watching something that is fun for him. I really mean let’s watch something that is fun for me.

Maybe your choice would be not to watch TV at all. Maybe watching TV is not fun for you. You may be onto something. Stepping away from the TV may be a step toward real fun.

Taking the Leap

I recently reviewed the different ways I spend my time. I found that watching reality TV has been one of my only sources of fun besides reading, walking, taking photos, and writing. As I typed that list, it didn’t scream FUN to me. I feel happy and content, but that collection on its own would not make up what I would consider a fun person.

I have been thinking a lot about this lately. I don’t think watching TV is actually fun. I think I am experiencing fun through watching other people have fun. I have even jokingly referred to the characters as my friends. But, in reality, I can’t identify any positive impact reality TV has had on my life, so I am on a break. No fun for me this month.

Now, what could I do for fun?

Friends

I have slowly withdrawn from my friends over the past several years. I appreciate my time in nature. The sunset is never late or has to leave early. The sunrise never calls because it can’t make it today. Nothing unexpected, no drama or negativity, just the beauty I have come to appreciate and have fun with.

Now over the past two years, I have further isolated as most people have. I am struggling to feel the need to reintegrate. I have engaged as safely as possible with others on several occasions and I have enjoyed myself, but my preference is to stay isolated. Do we really need to engage with other people to have fun?

What is Fun?

Just like success or anything else in our lives, if we don’t have a clear definition, how are we going to be able to make sure we are moving in the right direction? How can we have fun if we aren’t sure what it is?

I used to think I knew what fun was. When my definition of fun changed, that was the end of fun for me. It took years to realize I needed to redefine it. I am still working on it.

Defining Beliefs

When should we have fun? How should we have it? How much should we have? Who should we have it with? Our families, society, and our own experiences all contribute to the beliefs we have about fun.

There is a vicious cycle at work here. Based on our beliefs, we may judge other people that are having fun. This in turn makes us more likely to hold back from fun ourselves in fear of being judged.

This is the same cycle that fosters fear in other areas of our lives. The hard part about putting a stop to these cycles is getting to the root of the beliefs. Most of them are subconscious. It takes some detective work to uncover them, find out where they came from, and replace them with something more appropriate in service of having more fun.

Hmm…detective work. That could be fun!

Let’s do something fun!

What would you choose?

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone revisits their definition of fun to make sure it is serving them in their happiest pursuit of having some!

It may be a bumpy ride if you have gone off track, but putting in the effort is worth it! Fun is good for us! Write your own definition. Buckle up. Take your own path.

Here is another story I wrote about rediscovering fun through play: