It seems childish, doesn’t it? To ask yourself “am I having fun?” As if the focus of our adult lives should be more complex than that. But why? Why is having fun at the bottom of our priorities if even on the list at all?

I don’t think that it should be, and it doesn’t have to be either. As I’ve travelled across the country and spoken to some of the most successful people there are, I’ve found that success doesn’t always come with a meaningful life. I see these people who have everything they ever wanted, they achieved the goals they set out to achieve, yet if I ask they will tell me they don’t make fun a priority.

There is a pervasive theme in todays society that places the emphasis on what you can get done rather than how you’ll live as you chase the things you want.

A survey taken in 2019 of 1,000 adult Americans found that while 97% consider having fun to be important, only 53% actually report having fun on a regular basis. How does this happen? How do we see something, know it is important, yet neglect incorporating it into our daily lives?

We get success tunnel vision.

As Arthur C. Brooks once said, “The pursuit of achievement distracts from the deeply ordinary activities and relationships that make life meaningful.”

So then, if we want to have fun in our day to day lives, we have to be present enough in the moments where there is fun to be found in the simply ordinary. Fun is not something that you have to conjure up from thin air, it’s an experience waiting to be discovered all around you.

The official definition of fun is “enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure.” Meaning that fun is not something you must find, but rather a state of mind you have the choice to enter into. It’s the short interaction you have with the strangers you meet where you realize they have a story to tell that you’ve never heard. It’s the parts of your job where you feel like you’re finding your stride and gliding as you go. It’s the coffee breaks with your favorite creamers and even awkward office conversations.

If you want to start having fun, no one is stopping you other than yourself.

Think of it this way:

Imagine you are a teenager again, your phone has been taken away, and you can’t go out with your friends because you have to eat dinner with family. Sitting around the table, your family is telling stories, laughing, and enjoying their meal. Yet there you sit with your arms crossed, determined to be in a bad mood. Get this, you’re allowed to stay in a bad mood all you want, but the person missing out the most will be you. In that moment you have the choice, make your point to the universe by staying angry, or let the moments happening around you be enough to make your situation fun even if it isn’t what you wanted at first.

The amazing thing about fun is that it doesn’t require anything in particular to be had. You can find fun in a conversation as easily as you’d find it at an amusement park. It just takes having the right mindset to observe the world around you with.

So then, are you having fun?

Are the people around you having fun?

If the answer to either of those questions is no, it may be time to make it a priority.

Lead Well,