Have Fun Today!

Having fun is such an important part of our well being. But, sometimes we stop doing enjoyable things. I want to encourage you to do something fun today! 

What do you love to do?

Have you forgotten what it is like to have fun?

Let’s face it, living through a pandemic is hard! But we all need ways to find fun in the day today!

When we do something we truly enjoy, it lifts our mood and helps us be more positive and encouraging to those around us.  

So how do we rediscover the fun in our lives?

1. Remember What is Fun

The first thing that we need to do is to take a trip down memory lane, back to when we were kids. Children don’t seem to struggle to have fun and to play. Especially children under the age of 10. My boys were always so busy making up games, playing legos, reading books, inventing their own stories, and acting them out. Having fun was effortless for them.

We don’t stay children forever, and somehow on the journey from child to adult, we can forget how to have fun. We let the childhood activities go which brought us joy. Maybe we get focused on our roles as parents. It could be that our work responsibilities are so large that we don’t have any room in our day for fun anymore.

I want you to take some time to remember the child you used to be. How did you amuse yourself? What did you like to do? What were your favorite activities? Were you an artist? Or a dancer? Maybe you liked to read books. Did you love to Rollerblade?

Grab a notebook and brainstorm the things that you used to do to have fun. No judging, just write. Get all the ideas down, and don’t worry about whether they are feasible right now. Your job right now is to remember.

2. Sift Through your Fun List

Ok, now you have a list of ideas of what you used to do for fun. Now we get to put on our adult hats again and sift through our ideas. If anything is completely out of the question because of your current state in life, then just cross it out. Maybe you used to go out dancing in night clubs with your friends for fun. Right now, that is not doable or safe. Perhaps you used to love to rock climb, but you injured your shoulder and can’t climb anymore. That’s ok! The goal here is to find activities that you might find fun, and that are possible right now.

I’d like you to try to identify 3-5 activities that you might be willing to try soon. You don’t need to start them right away, but at least you will have a menu of choices.

3. Pick One Fun Thing to Try

Look at your list of potential fun activities and pick one or two that you’d like to try. These should be activities that are relatively simple to start and that can ideally be done at home because of the pandemic.  

Recently, I began reading more fun fiction books. As a child, every week or so I would go to the library and pick out a huge stack of books. I knew I had the right amount if I couldn’t carry any more in my arms. I especially loved spending hours reading during the summer.  

In my young adulthood, I decided to change my reading habits to include more nonfiction books. While this has been great for my personal development, it doesn’t add to the fun in my life!  

Once we had the order to stay at home given in mid-March, I began to realize I could use more fun reading in my life. With vacations canceled and daily anxiety on the rise, I needed a way to escape. Reading fiction books has really helped me get away without leaving my couch.  

Take a look at your list and find the one that looks the most fun for you. Then it’s time for the real fun to begin.

4.  Start Something Fun

This is key to actually having fun. We need to start the activity! Have you ever decided you want to start a craft project, bought all the supplies, then never started? I certainly have been guilty of that. I just love all the inspiration available in craft stores and magazines. So, I will buy things, then forget to use them.

Crafts and hobbies aren’t fun if you don’t start them! Opening up a drawer in your home to find an undone craft project may not inspire a positive feeling in you. So let’s focus on getting started.

We need to put on our adult hats for this one. In order to actually start a new activity, you need to decide when you are going to do it. Should you do this in the morning? Or would this be better done after work in the evening? Is it a long project with a lot of set up and clean up? Then maybe it is a better weekend activity.  

I enjoy gardening. But, I don’t always have the energy to do it for 2-3 hours. And, with the summer heat of southern California, if I don’t do it in the morning, I won’t do it at all! I know that doing it after the dog walk and before my shower is the right time for me. I garden for about 15-30 minutes, and then I stop. I don’t ever finish my yard in that time, but I get to enjoy tending my flowers. I make my way around my yard, and eventually, all the areas get taken care of. Because I’m doing it regularly, I get to spread my enjoyment of the task across several days.  

Be flexible as you are finding time for your new fun activity. You might try doing it in the evening and then realize it cuts into your family time. No problem, just try it at another time!

5.  Keep Trying to Have Fun

As we are having fun trying new activities, we invariable make mistakes. And as adults, we hate making mistakes. Usually, we avoid mistakes as much as possible. But when you are trying new things (or getting started on a new hobby after a while) you will make mistakes!

Try to have a lighthearted attitude as you are doing your new activities. If you miss a few stitches on your crochet project, please don’t stress! Your crafts don’t need to be perfect! We are doing these things to have fun. Criticizing yourself for making a mistake means you aren’t having fun.

I have had some really funny crafting failures as I learned how to use my Cricut machine. I have cut paper out on the wrong setting, ironed on something in the wrong place, had trouble weeding a difficult design, only to realize I didn’t like the image in the first place. I have gotten much better over the last few years of having my machine, so the crafting challenges are getting rarer. Persevering through the frustration means that I get better and have more fun in the future.

As we close, I thought I would share a list of some of the fun things that I enjoy. I would love to hear about what you do for fun! Please share in the comments so we can get inspired!

Jen’s Fun list:

• Reading
• Gardening
• Dancing
• Making things on my Cricut
• Crochet
• Making new bullet journal templates that are pretty
• Arranging flowers
• Quilting 
• Walking
• Getting coffee with a friend
• Coloring
• Writing

I would love to hear what you like to do for fun! Please share your fun things with me in the comments! Let’s inspire one another to do more things that we enjoy!