When you look around the world today, it seems that a lot of the fun has gone out of our lives. We take ourselves and life so seriously, we have stopped enjoying what we are doing.
 

Fun is something that provides amusement or enjoyment in your life. So — in the spirit of the topic — this article is written with fun in mind.
 
To be sure, there are somber moments and times when fun is not appropriate for the day. But if fun is never part of your day, week, and life, you may notice you have fewer friends than you could or should.
 
Some individuals feel that because the world is filled with so much violence and horror, having fun must be banned or not permitted in their life. Our response is: it’s time to get a life. If you are not having fun in your life, your success is being severely hindered.
 
If I were to call your closest friends and work colleagues, what would they say about your Fun Factor? Would there be enough evidence to prove you are enjoying life or would you be guilty of drinking sour-prune juice?
 
We should translate fun into all areas of our life. Work, home, relationships, hobbies ― what area in your life can use improvement?

Here’s an example. Our work environment at CRG can be intense with deadlines; excellence is required in all our projects, but we try not to take ourselves seriously. Fun is an attitude, a choice, a philosophy about life.

A few years ago, the CRG team decided that creating significant stress in my life was fun, so they conspired to fake the loss of all our data on the server. It took them several days of prep (which I have since deducted from their pay) so they could enjoy my 180 seconds of terror. The real fun occurred when I got even!
 
There is medical evidence that humor and fun improve your health. Norm Cousins, in his book, The Anatomy of an Illness, watched Three Stooges movies while in hospital, to heal himself. Laughing and having fun produces endorphins that strengthen your immune system and overall health. Think about it. Have you ever laughed so hard; you could hardly breathe? How did that make you feel? Amazingly good, right?
   
I encourage you to be aware of the way fun and enjoyment can be part of most of your life. Admittedly, I can personally miss this concept myself, because of my busy work schedules and demands of our profession. I have mostly changed that through my intention to make sure that fun, humor, and enjoyment are part of my family life.

At the time of writing this, I have a young grandson and we are just crazy together laughing and having fun. His innocent enjoyment of just being is something all of us can learn.
 
You don’t have to do what I’ve suggested — just get with the program of enjoying yourself and having fun. That will be unique to each person reading this ezine so identify your list of fun activities. Over three decades ago, Montreal started the week-long Just for Laughs Comedy Festival; nobody thought it would work, but now several cities around the world host these festivals. Apparently, we like to laugh.
   

10 Steps to Having Fun and Enjoying Life

1. Would your closest friends say you are fun to be around or . . .? If you are not having fun, yet, get with the program.
2. Think about the different parts of your life: work, home, and leisure time. Are you having fun in most of them? If not, think of what you have to change to achieve it.
3. Lighten up!
4. Take your life seriously, but not yourself.
5. This week, engage in activities that make you laugh. Rent a funny movie; go to a comedy club; invite funny friends over; if you don’t have any funny friends, rent some.
6. Life is busy; schedule your fun activities. Stop feeling guilty about the fun you are having. There is no redeeming value in being sincerely miserable on behalf of the world and your life.
7. Give your fun factor away. Become a Fun master for others.
8. If you are unable to have fun or are not enjoyable to be with, please do us all a favor and limit your contact with others.
9. Question 8 was a test; if you got defensive after reading it, you failed the fun test. Return to the beginning of this article and start over; keep repeating this process until Action Step 8 no longer offends you.
10. If you are reading this Action Step, you got past the test question in number 8. Congratulations! Are you having fun, yet?

My doctor recently told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel 10 years older already.

Author Bio

Ken Keis, Ph.D. is an expert on leadership, purpose, and wellness and the foremost global authority on personality and behavioral assessments that increase and multiply your success rate. He is the President and CEO of Consulting Resource Group International, Inc. An internationally known author, speaker, and consultant in the past 32 years, Ken has conducted more than 3000 presentations and 10,000 hours of consulting and coaching. Dr. Keis is the author of Why Aren't You More Like Me?, Deliberate Leadership, and The Quest For Purpose! Connect Ken Keis

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