You need to incorporate fun into your daily life. You might think I’m crazy, but trust me, what’s the harm? Making an effort to have fun regularly has a positive impact on your well-being. Live your life to its fullest potential. We usually do not know when we will die, so trying to live every day to the best it can be, can help you find a sense of peace. I don’t mean you need to be skydiving and climbing mountains, but trying to find fun in the everyday can make a big difference.

What is Fun?

Fun looks differently for every person, so ultimately you need to spend a little time thinking about it. With our busy schedules these days, we often forget to have a little fun, or when we manage to put it into our calendars, half the time we don’t enjoy ourselves because we’re focused on the pressures you are facing from work, your personal life, and relationships. So how to break the cycle? Think about the meaning of fun and start brainstorming. What do you enjoy doing? Are there any activities you’ve done in the last few weeks that made you smile so hard your cheeks were hurting? What one thing stands out from past year that made you feel really happy? Was it a family vacation? A night out with friends? Did you discover a new skill? When you can’t sleep and you’re watching YouTube videos, what makes you chuckle?

Finding new ways of having fun

Now let’s go back to when you were a kid, remember what you found fun? It most likely is a completely different list to what you wrote down. We change over the years, but sometimes trying some of those things out might just lighten up the mood. Create an obstacle course in the backyard to enjoy with the kids, or maybe you can set up a mock “laser maze” with crepe paper across a hallway and pretend you’re a spy on a secret mission. Do you remember putting on a cape and pretending you were a superhero as a kid? I do.

Set time aside to read a book, simply to get lost in the story. Pick up some colouring pencils and a colouring book at your local art store to rediscover the joy of colouring. This has had increased popularity among adults in the last few years as a form of de-stressing so there are plenty of colouring books oriented for the adult consumer.

If you like to cook, try getting creative with the presentation of your food. Use colour to make your dishes pop and entice your appetite. If you have kids, you can always try to make characters to encourage them to eat more diverse foods.

Have a family game night or plan for an activity with friends like bowling or mini-golf. Take a chance on taking in one of your local cultural offerings, from going to the museum, catching a film or a comedy show, or take a painting class. Crank up the music when you are doing the dishes and dance like nobody’s watching! I’m guilty of doing it at the bus stop, so I’m sure I amuse everyone driving by!

Why bother?

Having fun helps with your overall well-being by reducing stress. Laughter is the best medicine, and often times when doing something we truly enjoy, laughter will be there too. My mother was always telling jokes and she often said she was hopeless because she was always coming up with pranks and would probably never grow up. But that was great! It kept her youthful and it was exciting to be around her. I have countless memories of hearing her stories and laughing so hard, I could skip the gym that day from the ab workout she gave me. I always slept better on those nights too! The memories that you develop when you have fun stick with you longer. You become present when having fun, which is a big contributor to your overall happiness.

Be a Kid Again!

Fun can come in many forms, what’s important is that you try to incorporate a little bit of fun in your day. Remove barriers and just let yourself experience fun. Be curious, ask questions and discover new things. Remember to be kind and not judge yourself. Be silly. Disregard your fears of what others might think. Experience the innocence of a kid again. And most of all, be you.