Having fun in life is more important than you might think. Often, we are pushed by both society and those around us to achieve and strive for more success. However, taking the time to slow down and do things that we enjoy can help us to rest, recharge, motivate and to lead more fulfilling and meaningful lives.
Having fun is okay
If you feel constant pressure to achieve goals that you’ve set for yourself, it may feel inefficient to take time to rest. However, taking time to have fun can help you to achieve your goals faster. Because fun a great motivator, it also helps you to detach from the outcome of success and gain new perspectives on solving problems you might be having.
Sometimes there is pressure around us to not have fun. For example, if we are trying to pay down debt, might feel that we should not spend on a fun game or outing. We should, instead, use it to pay down the debt that we’ve accumulated. While it is an excellent idea to work towards our goals, it’s important that we have good balance between achievement and fun in order to feel satisfied.
The benefits of having more fun
Avoid burnout
Recently, burnout has become more common in adults. This could be an after effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, where we were limited in the kinds of fun we could have due to closures and trying to stay home to keep ourselves safe. Burnout happens when we work for long periods of time without breaks. It depletes our energy, makes us feel unmotivated, and prevents us from working efficiently.
Planning regularly scheduled activities with friends and family, or even just by yourself can help to decrease stress levels and help you avoid burnout. Taking a break to do something that you enjoy can be a great motivator to continue working on your goals. It will also nourish the other parts of your life, including your relationships, to help you feel fulfilled.
Increase optimism
Having more fun can also help us increase our optimistic view of ourselves and the world around us. Having fun increases our optimistic view because we are generally less stressed, less anxious, and generally happier. When we’re feeling more optimistic overall, this will transfer over into our work and view of success. It acts as a motivator for us to keep going in achieving our goals and looking forward to the days ahead of us. This can even be true when we’re going through a difficult time.
Gives us something to look forward to
Having more regularly-scheduled fun in our lives can help remind us that there is always something to look forward to. There is always more fun to be had! Having something planned to look forward to is a great motivator. It also gives us something to focus on in stressful times.
Once we have a fun outing or event, it may help us to shift our priorities. We realize that joy is an essential part of our lives as humans. It may help us to shift our values in a positive way, and remind us that there is so much more to live for than work and responsibilities.
About Therapist Samantha Nolan, MA, LPC, ATR- Barnum Counseling
Photo by Antonino Visalli on Unsplash