On the importance of having fun.

It is appalling how little attention we pay to fun these days. One would think that with all the entertainment, toys, sports & hobbies available these days, boredom is impossible. But, we still get bored! In 2019, a research conducted by Bowlero found that on average, Americans experience 131 days of boredom per year. It is depressing…

Even if the leisure industry represents trillions of dollars, having fun is not something we take seriously. Having fun is something you do after your chores are done if you have some free time left. It’s a bonus, not a priority. How many times have you heard your parents say to you, “Work first, play later”? Who do we hear about the most? Jimmy Buffett, arguably the biggest beach bum in the world, or Elon, Bill, and Jeff? Hell, the best-selling book of 2021 is about productivity: “Atomic Habits”, by James Clear. That says a lot… Our western culture puts financial success, performance, and productivity first. Health, and relationship, take the back seat and fun is running far behind the car. So we hustle, grind and without surprise, we get burned. (A Deloitte survey revealed that 77% of the respondent have experienced some burnout at their current job). This happens when your life is out of balance. Work, health, relationships, and fun are all necessary for a well-rounded and healthy life.

Health

Yes, amusement is vital to our well-being. Just like quality sleep, eating organic greens, exercising, sex and intimacy, feeling safe, valued, loved, or developing meaningful relationships. Cognitive, social, and physical development in humans (and some animals) occurs through playing. That’s how we experience the world, learn and grow, and that’s why kids, puppies, or baby tigers play all the time. Having fun is fundamental for reaching one’s full potential. It is hard-wired in our genes and it doesn’t go away with age.

During the lockdowns of 2020–2021, boredom, lack of social interactions, and time spent outside resulted in an alarming rise in depression and suicides. On the flip side, video game sales increased by 27% in the US alone! People took on new hobbies to people cope with the situation. Have you ever felt stressed while having a good time? Remember the last time when you were playing or laughing with your closest friends? Chances are you weren’t too anxious. And that is because it is impossible to be stressed when you are having fun. Every time you indulge in enjoyable activities, your body releases a sweet cocktail of feel-good hormones. Dopamine and endorphin reduce stress and increase pleasure. Having a good time is the most powerful anti-stress there is! Heck, nowadays doctors treat depression with laughter and having fun!

Don’t forget to make time to play and have fun with the mundanity of everyday life! The more fun you have, the less stressed you are. And since stress affects negatively all aspects of health and life (sleep, cardiovascular health, weight loss, cancer, performance, focus, relationships….) the overall quality of your life will improve. Just by having fun. That is the fountain of youth. On this note, let’s remember this beautiful quote from skateboarding legend, Jay Adams (even though he died at 53. R.I.P. Jay).

“You don’t stop skateboarding because you get old.
You get old because you stop skateboarding”.

Productivity

In the social imaginary, leisure and work are incompatible. “Work first and play later”, remember? In reality, having fun helps people to be more productive. Working too much is not sane. Overworking will fry your brains and tire your body until the point where you just won’t be able to work. Taking some time off work to engage in other playful activities allows you to refresh your mind and body and helps you be more efficient at whatever you are doing. That’s obvious. The other thing is that taking breaks to play has been proven to increase concentration and memory. That’s why Google’s offices look like giant playgrounds, with ball pits, slides, mini-golf, arcades, hammocks, funky designed rooms, etc. Fun is at the heart of the company’s culture. It is regarded as one of the best places to work, and one of the most profitable companies in the world. Google also understands why people procrastinate. They want their employees to be excited about working there. Sundar doesn’t want anyone wasting their time on TikTok or daydreaming about what they wish they could do instead of working. Edison didn’t come up with the light bulb because he was told to do it or because he had rent to pay. He did it for the thrill of it! Coming up with inventions and solving problems was his game. This is how the greatest (and other so not great) inventions came about. Hell, that’s the reason we humans, landed on the moon. So if you ever feel guilty about having fun because you are afraid it’ll interfere with your productivity, relax and take a much-needed break. One last thing regarding work and fun. More and more companies are organizing team bonding events or team activities outside of work. They want solid, quality relationships between their employees. And having fun together is what creates strong relationships and what makes them last. Great work has a lot to do with the people you work with.

Relationships

Every living creature on earth gravitates towards things that feel good to them. So when we are having a good time with someone, we want to see them again. We want to be around them; it doesn’t matter if it’s friends, family, or lovers. There’s a famous saying that goes: “Couples who play together, stay together.” It makes sense. When you are having a great time with your friends or lovers, you will look forward to your next adventure. You will not look somewhere else (unless you’ve got other issues)… That’s as simple as that. But when boredom creeps, people wonder if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. No one wants to stay around a boring person for too long. You can stay in for the money, the sex, the comfort, the security, the status, but if you’re bored… What’s the point of staying in this relationship? Fun really is at the center of every successful and healthy relationship.

Self-Actualization

We’ll never know what life really is all about but deep down, we know there’s more to it than having our shit together. We all want this je ne sais quoi life might have in store for us. Masłów calls it “self-actualization”. It’s hard to grasp and there’s no consensus on what it exactly is so let’s make it short and sweet. It’s feeling that you are in the perfect place, at the perfect moment, doing the things that make you feel alive. You know that things couldn’t get any better. Maybe they could get better but who cares, this feels just right. It’s the maraschino cherry on the cake, really. Having fun helps with all your primary needs, but it will especially help you reach this most supreme need, self-actualization. It could look like discovering an activity that brings you so much fun and joy that it turns into a passion, and later into a purpose that you can articulate your life around… Or it could simply be looking at life through the lens of fun and playfulness.

We’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg here, but I hope you’ll realize how important having fun is. Let’s remember to play.