You probably don’t have as much fun as you’d like. This is a common complaint among adults. If you feel like you’ve been missing out, you’re in the right place. There’s no reason that you can’t enjoy a little fun on a regular basis.
Even if you have a full-time job, a spouse, and kids, you can find ways to have fun. All you have to do is make it a priority and plan some fun activities into you schedule.
Keep these ideas in mind and add some fun each day:
1. Schedule fun time. Most people aren’t going to consistently have fun unless it’s planned into their schedule. If you decide to have fun whenever you have free time, it’s never going to happen.
If having fun is a priority, you’ll make the time for it. Take a look at your schedule and decide right now when you’re going to have fun.
2. Avoid taking life too seriously. In a society that values achievement, it’s easy to take life too seriously. We don’t like to spend our time frivolously. If you want to enjoy yourself, you’re going to have to lighten up a little bit. There’s a time to work, and there’s a time to play. Both require your full attention.
3. Do something you’ve always wanted to do. There have been many times you’ve thought to yourself, “That looks cool. I have to try that.” It might be surfing, playing the violin, or riding a mechanical bull. What have you always wanted to do? Now is the time to make it happen.
4. Spend time with others. It’s not that you can’t have fun by yourself, but it’s easier to have fun with others. Even better, you have someone you can recall that experience with years later. “Remember that time we….”
5. Have something to look forward to. Life is more fun if you have something on the horizon that you can look forward to. It could be a date on Saturday night, a trip to the city for the weekend, a vacation, a book you just purchased online but are waiting for it to arrive, or plans to see an old friend.
Think back to a time you had big plans for the weekend. It made your week more enjoyable. The anticipation alone can be fun.
Give yourself at least one thing each week you can look forward to.
Notice how it changes your mood for the better.
6. Eliminate things you don’t enjoy. The things in your life that make you unhappy detract from your ability to enjoy yourself. It’s easier to have fun if you can remove these unenjoyable things from your life. This includes people, too.
You can’t get rid of everything and everyone you don’t like, but you can eliminate some of the unenjoyable things. Eliminating the things that stand in the way of having fun makes more room for fun people and activities.
7. Care less about what others think. One of the greatest detractors of having fun and feeling joy is being too concerned about the opinions of others. This is easy to say but challenging to accomplish. However, if you care less about what others think, you’ll enjoy your life more.
When was the last time you had fun? Probably not recently, but now you know how to change that!
There are plenty of ways to have fun without making elaborate plans or spending a lot of money. Grab a friend or family member and go do something new. Make a few memories and have a few laughs. You can have fun when you’re willing to make time for it.
With Grace and Grit,
Whitney