Time for a “Funth”: A Month Challenge to Have More Fun

“It is very difficult, and always wasteful, to achieve something worthwhile without enjoying it. If more people were hedonistic, the world would be a better and, in all senses, a richer place.”

Richard Koch, The 80/20 Principle

Last weekend, Kim, the boys, and I ventured out of Cape Town. It was our first weekend away since returning to South Africa. Wine tastings, pals, braais, swimming in dams, bakkie rides with Tjokkie. Lekker.

On the drive out, Kim and I listened to a podcast her sister recommended. It featured a guy we’ll call Anthony. He, like me, encourages breaking away from conventional paths. But Anthony is way more professionally successful than me. More friendly, intelligent, earnest, respectable, wholesome, and thoughtful, too.

He’s also boring.

(Kim and I thought so, at least.)

Anthony’s podcast appearance reminded me of a summer camp my parents sent me to when I was ten. What neither my parents nor I knew before I got dropped off there was that it was very religious. I had to sit through sermons for a couple of hours every day, the counselors talked in hushed tones, I learned saying “dammit” was a no-no, and there was no tuck shop where I could fill my pockets with candies. So while the camp had all the classic activities, I had a decent time, and it probably made me a better person, I didn’t beg my parents to go back.

Nothing against Bible camp or Anthony. I agree with what they stand for and respect their work. Their approach just doesn’t vibe with me. I rather take things less seriously, even if people take me less seriously as a result.

Or that is how I try to behave.

Unleash Your Grasshopper

“Fun things go further.”

Lex Fridman

It’s not like I’m the life of any party I go to. I rarely go to parties in the first place and I don’t even like to dance. I prefer to observe and contemplate. And I’m unusually disciplined and organized. Very much more ant than grasshopper from Aesop’s fable.

These are dangerously fun-snuffing tendencies I have to fight to keep in check. 

As Kim and I chatted about what I could learn from Anthony’s podcast episode, I wondered:

• Do I overexpose my brain to the ant-like Anthonys of the world?
• Does their blandness rub off on me?

I consume a lot of similarly serious content: newsletters, books, podcasts, and articles. As much as their ideas titillate my brain, I worry they make me duller.

So that night I prayed to my almighty flip-flop for guidance. And it delivered! I woke up the next morning with a plan:

A “Funth.”

Finish the Year With a Funth

“It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how.”

The Cat in the Hat

For the month of December, I’m going do my darnedest to infuse my days with fun and avoid anything that isn’t.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to screw around for 31 days. Rather than work hard, then play hard, I’m challenging myself to work hard and play hard—simultaneously. Then I’ll play hard(-er than usual) when not working. 

Some ideas for my Funth:

• Only read, listen to, and watch fun content.
• Only write fun things, even at risk of them being perceived as silly or stupid.
• Grow fun facial hair.
• Mess around with fun little projects, like an “Adventure Relish” recipe I’ve been meaning to concoct. (More to come on this!)
• Set a budget of $500 to pay others to do things I deem anti-fun.
• Pocket some fun conversation starters to liven my chats up.
• Create a “Fun GPT” that I can consult for ways to make whatever I’m doing more playful.

What else?

Please leave a comment with your fun-spiration. Fun books? Funniest podcast episodes you’ve listened to? Fun activities or challenges?

Overthinking and over-planning are turds in fun’s punch bowl, so once my Funth begins, I’m going to wing it. I’ll stick to four simple guidelines:

1. Keep my fun-dar on and follow it.
2. Whatever I do, ask myself, How can I make it more fun?
3. Avoid fun-suckers at all costs.
4. When in doubt, do whatever option would make my kids laugh.

Fun-spiring Podcasts

• 🎧 What Is Fun, Exactly? from the No Stupid Questions podcast with Angela Duckworth and Maria Konnikova
• 🎧 Laurie Gets a Fun-tervention (Part One) from The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Related Posts On The Zag

• 33 Rules to Live By
  • 27. 👅 Be seriously unserious. Take great care to avoid sticks up your butt, which make it impossible to move freely
• Maybe Info-Ligion Can Save You, Too
  • Why I converted to Flip-Flopism to address my information overconsumption issues.