IT sounds frivolous, I know. Selfish. A waste of time, even. If I had to venture a guess, I reckon ‘having fun’ doesn’t even feature on your list of priorities, never mind your daily to-do list. Even in the world of positive psychology, it’s not a topic that gets a lot of attention. Gratitude, sure. Whip out that gratitude journal before bed and write down three things you’re thankful for. So many proven health benefits. Happiness? That one has whole psychology departments studying it. And why shouldn’t they? ‘Cultivating happiness’ sounds like a noble academic pursuit. By comparison, ‘having fun’ is the dunce in the corner, doing handstands and chewing on a crayon.
Yet fun covers much of the same ground as happiness. There’s also some overlap with ‘play’, another oft-neglected facet of life that we associate with kids and puppies; ‘connection’, the key to all your happiest relationships; and ‘flow’, another pop psych buzzword – one with just as many benefits. In fact, according to science journalist Catherine Price, the author of The Power of Fun, fun is the key to a happy and healthy life, and something we should be pursuing far more often.
◗ TIME IS MONEY
Having more fun seems like a simple enough concept, but
