The Power of Fun summary

Prepare yourself for an unexpected truth: we are all going to die! The things that disturb our sleep at night don’t matter; the things that stress us out or that we obsess over on a daily basis – our careers, our failures, our bosses, our financial situations, our likes on social media – are all ultimately meaningless. 

Well, that’s a killjoy if ever there was one – but there’s a point! While ultimately we can’t do anything about our final destination, we can make sure we enjoy the journey.

Audits are fun, right? I doubt you expected to hear the word audit in connection with fun. Yet, before we can start to have more True Fun in our lives, we need to take a step back, recognize the signs of True Fun, and evaluate how much of it we’re already experiencing – in other words, establish a baseline. And then we need to identify 3 important things: our fun magnets, our fun factors, and our anti-fun factors.

Sounds like a lot of hard work? Nothing says “fun” like an assignment. But bear in mind that the ultimate aim is to enjoy yourself. And you don’t have to do this alone, either. Why not ask someone to do it with you? Chances are you’ll grow closer and both end up having more True Fun in the process.

Armed with your baseline and your fun journal, it’s time to think about what preconditions there need to be for you to experience True Fun and identify your fun magnets, fun factors, and anti-fun factors.

Let’s start with those preconditions – without these in place, you won’t experience True Fun. First, make sure you’re completely present and engaged. No distractions, remember? Put that phone away! Then, nobody should feel judged or self-conscious during the activity and everyone involved should go all-in – no half measures. It’s important not to think about a reward or outcome from the activity, too – so embrace your playfulness. And get together with other people. Even though you absolutely can experience True Fun alone, it’s more likely you’ll experience it with others.

Making Space means decluttering both your mental and physical space.

The first step is to give yourself permission to prioritize fun in your life. You can do that just in your head, if you like, but if you need to visualize it, write yourself a permission slip. Perhaps something along the lines of “I hereby give myself permission to prioritize fun in my life and won’t feel selfish or irresponsible in doing so.” Then, be sure to sign and date it.

So far we’ve covered the first three elements of SPARK: make Space, pursue Passions, and Attract fun. Now, let’s consider the final two: Rebel and Keep at it.

It may surprise you to know that when Price looked through all the anecdotes she was sent about past experiences of True Fun, she discovered that many of the activities were, as she says, “mildly naughty.” Rules were broken, even if only slightly, and some respondents described behaviors that were taboo, unexpected, or unusual. We’re not talking about such rebellious activities that might hurt someone or land you in jail, but more, you know, things that are harmless.