Ep 225: The Hidden Benefits of Joy and Fun

We’re sitting down with Catherine Price, author of The Power of
Fun, to talk about the overlooked benefits of having fun!
Catherine defines the true meaning of fun, explains why we tend
to undervalue it, and gives practical tips for how to bring more
fun to ourselves and our families.


Sponsored by Equip: Eating disorder treatment
that works—delivered at home. Visit equip.health/talking for more
information, and a free consultation.


Full show notes





Do you remember the last time you had fun? Maybe you were
exploring a new place, playing a video game or even just laughing
with your friends. What did it feel like? Did it help you relieve
stress and add joy to your day?





We often consider fun irrelevant, or view it as a waste of time,
but it can be an essential part of survival. Having fun is not
only good for our mood, but actually improves our physical
health, lowering our cortisol and helping us balance our
hormones.





Teaching kids the importance of fun can help them live happier,
healthier lives as they head into adulthood.





To understand how we can pass the value of fun onto our kids,
we’re talking to Catherine Price, author of The Power of Fun.
Catherine is an award-winning science journalist and speaker
whose work has been featured in Time Magazine, O Magazine, the
Los Angeles Times, and more. The New York Times even dubbed her
the Marie Kondo of minds!





In our interview, we’re talking about the definition of true fun,
why we often undervalue fun in our society, and what practical
steps we can take to bring more fun to ourselves and our
families.





How Fun Keeps Us Happy And Healthy


Fun is often misunderstood, explains Catherine. We tend to think
of any relaxing or non-work activity as “fun” when in reality
these activities don’t always meet the requirements. 





Catherine explains that fun consists of three core elements:
Playfulness, connectivity and flow. Playfulness doesn't
necessarily refer to childlike behavior, but simply requires us
to do something for the sake of doing it without putting too much
emphasis on the outcome. Connectivity refers to sharing an
experience with another person, and flow means being so invested
in whatever we’re doing that we lose track of time.





When we experience playfulness, connectivity and flow all at
once, that means we’re experiencing true fun, says Catherine.
This is different from what Catherine describes as “fake fun”,
which often includes binge-watching TV shows or scrolling through
social media apps. These activities are designed to keep us
hooked by hijacking our dopamine reward systems, but don’t
actually equate to true fun. Catherine dives deeper into the
phenomenon of fake fun in the episode.





There is also some middle ground between fun and non-fun, she
explains. Relaxing, solitary activities like going on a long
walk, taking a bath or doing a puzzle are still essential to our
wellbeing and should be prioritized, but they don’t meet the
requirements for being true fun. Some activities include
connectivity without flow, or playfulness without connectivity.
Although these kinds of experiences aren’t true fun, they’re
still beneficial and add value to our lives, Catherine explains.





In order to fit more true fun into our lives, however, we have to
start realizing its value. Catherine and I discuss how fun is
often considered a waste of time and how we can start
prioritizing fun again.



Why Fun Is Undervalued


As teens get older, we typically start telling them it’s time to
get more serious. We pressure them to look towards results–better
SAT scores, college acceptances, athletic achievements–and stop
encouraging them to simply have fun and explore. While teens need
to work towards becoming independent, they’ve also got to
remember to keep fun as a part of their lives, Catherine says.





Catherine explains that we often forget to value fun because it
doesn’t necessarily equate to making money. She breaks down a
timeline for when fun stopped being valued in society, around the
time of the industrial revolution. Before this period,
professions were valued for their ability to reach an outcome–a
cobbler made shoes, a butcher prepared meat, and a blacksmith
forged metal.





But when our modern industrial systems were established, people
stopped creating an outcome on their own, and became cogs in a
machine to contribute to an outcome along a line of production.
Today, this same pattern emerges, and it means that we don’t have
a clear endpoint to stop working and start having fun. There’s
endless work to do, and if we’re having fun instead of doing it,
society tells us to feel guilty, says Catherine.





To combat this, Catherine prompts us to start adding fun to our
lives and encouraging our family to do the same. In the episode,
we're discussing practical ways to bring more fun to your home.



Bringing Fun Back To Your Family


We all have natural inclinations about how to have fun, but it
can also help to take a practical approach, Catherine says. She
suggests that we have our teens complete a “fun audit” in which
they evaluate and make note of the things in their life that
bring the most fun. Catherine calls these forces “fun-magnets”,
and they could be a person, place, or thing. Maybe your teen’s
most powerful fun-magnet is the basketball court, or perhaps it’s
their lifelong best friend.





Many people think these fun-magnets need to be expensive or
outside of daily life. In reality, they can be a part of our
day-to-day routine, and can even be incorporated into
traditionally “un-fun” environments like work, Catheirne
explains. 





Sometimes, your fun magnets might not align with those of your
partner or kids, and that can be challenging, Catherine says. In
our interview, she explains how she and her husband enjoy very
different things, and can’t always compromise when it comes to
having fun! This doesn't mean you have to give up your
fun-magnets, however, and Catherine and I discuss how to preserve
your own version of fun even when someone disagrees or can’t
relate.





Although family might not agree on every activity, there’s likely
some common ground between everyone. Finding experiences that are
fun for everyone and doing them together can be a great way to
add joy to our lives, as well as create connections with our
kids.



In the Episode…





There’s plenty of great insights in today’s talk with Catherine!
On top of the topics discussed above, we also talk about:


Why parents should be cautious about video games

How we can grow our appreciation for everyday things

Why introverts can be just as fun as extroverts

How we can put down our phones and be more present



Thanks for listening! If you want to find more from Catherine,
you can find more from her on her website, Catherineprice.com.
Don’t forget to share and subscribe, and we’ll see you next week!


Sponsored by Equip: Eating disorder treatment
that works—delivered at home. Visit equip.health/talking for more
information, and a free consultation.