Overcoming Your Fun Resistance

Friends, I am quickly writing this week’s post so I can dash off to do “ecstatic dance” somewhere in the middle of Topanga Canyon. I should be excited about it, right? I’m not. Right now, nothing is sounding better than lingering around my apartment, rereading A Memory of Light. I am going, though, because I vowed to bring more fun into my life, and ecstatic dance offers way more potential for fun than reading, no matter how much I enjoyed the book. Am I the only one dealing with this odd type of fun resistance? Can there be others out there who, like me, often choose activities that are marginally entertaining at best over outright fun?

In case I’m not alone in this, this week we’re talking about fun and ways to bring more of it into your life. In my DIY Guide to Creating Your Dream Life, one of the questions I ask you to answer is “what can I do today purely for fun?” (Don’t have your copy? Sign up to the right – it’ free!) Of course I do my own daily guide, and this question stumps me nearly every time.  Half the time I write something that could be considered fun…but I know it’s not. At least for me, anyway. So yes, I confess – I “cheat” on my own daily guide. I’ve noticed this trend in me and with clients – claiming things will be fun while half dreading them – and so I’ve decided to try to change it.

I’m inviting you to join me in increasing your fun factor. If you’re game, let’s try this:

1. Come up with a list of ten things that sound fun. For real – no cheating with “well, drinking with my friends” when you know the experience always drains you. If you can’t come up with ten things, list as many as you can.
2. Check them against your internal body compass. When you envision doing this thing, does it feel like it will be fun? Does your body feel heavier, tighter, or ickier in any way? If the answer is “yes”, this might be a “should be fun” activity for you. Personally, I’m against “should be fun” activities wholeheartedly. First, they are not really fun. Second, if you’re like me, they involve lying to yourself about the fact that they are fun.
3. Once you’ve found at least one that is feasible and doable within the next week, schedule it. Invite a friend, book it in your calendar and do it. Even when you’d rather be cleaning your bathroom.

I have yet to figure out the “why” behind my own fun resistance. However, in the spirit of having fun, I’ve decided to not bother analyzing it further, and just change it. If you have insights of your own, I’d love to hear them. I’d write more, but I have some ecstatic dancing to do!

Monday Update: Ecstatic dance turned out be just that- ecstatic! I had 100x more fun than I would have staying at home reading. I wish I had more profound advice on how to overcome resistance, but in this case I think Nike got it right – just do it. Even when you don’t want to!