Laurie Has Fun... Part 1 ICYMI
Listener Natalie Robinson and her running club were inspired by Dr. Laurie Santos's quest to regain fun. This episode revisits part one of Dr. Santos's personal "fun-tervention" with journalist Catherine Price, exploring how to rediscover playfulness, connection, and flow in adult life.
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
Running Club's Fun-terventions Inspired by The Happiness Lab
Host's Personal Realization: The Loss of Childhood Fun
Introduction to Catherine Price and the 'Fun Squad'
Catherine Price's Journey to Rediscover Fun
Benefits of Pursuing Fun: Productivity, Health, and Meaning
Misconceptions and Lack of Scientific Definition for Fun
Defining True Fun: Playfulness, Connection, and Flow
Component 1: Playfulness and its Brain Benefits
Component 2: Connection and Social Well-being
Component 3: Flow vs. Junk Flow and Presence
Identifying Fun Killers: Distraction and Time Famine
Introducing the 'Delights' Practice for Undistracted Fun
Ross Gay's 'Book of Delights' and the Power of Noticing
Ross Gay's Rules and Discoveries from the Delight Project
Host's Experience with the Adapted Delight Practice
7 Key Concepts
Fun-terventions
These are deliberate interventions or planned activities designed to inject playfulness and fun back into one's life. They are a way to consciously make an effort to have more fun, often inspired by the idea that fun doesn't just happen but can be created.
Sunday Neurosis
A concept described by Viktor Frankl, referring to the internal void that becomes manifest when people have free time but don't know what to do with it, often because they lack meaningful pursuits outside of work. Catherine Price experienced this when she had an hour of free time without her phone and couldn't think of anything she wanted to do.
True Fun
Defined as the confluence of three specific themes: playfulness, connection, and flow. It's a state that brings euphoria, freedom, and joy, distinguishing it from casual uses of the word 'fun' or activities that don't genuinely make one feel good.
Playfulness
A feeling of being free from normal responsibilities, characterized by a carefree attitude where one doesn't care too much about the outcome and is intrinsically motivated. It can be brought to various activities, not just traditional 'play,' and is linked to physical and mental health benefits.
Flow
A state of true immersion defined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, where one is so present and passionately involved in an activity that time seems to fly by. True fun requires this active, present state, distinguishing it from 'junk flow' where one might be passively hypnotized by a screen.
Junk Flow
A state where one's eyes glaze over, and time passes without true engagement, often associated with staring at screens or social media. Unlike true flow, junk flow doesn't leave one feeling good or refreshed, as it lacks genuine presence and active involvement.
Delights Practice
A practice inspired by poet Ross Gay, where one consciously seeks out and notices small, joyful, or beautiful things in the world every day. This practice trains attention to positive things, fostering playfulness, connection, and presence, and can lead to a deeper sense of gratitude and resilience.
7 Questions Answered
No, it is possible to rediscover how to have fun and prioritize a childlike sense of goofiness and adventure in later years through deliberate effort and understanding the science of fun.
Pursuing fun can lead to increased happiness, improved productivity by refreshing the brain, physical health benefits like lower cortisol levels, and a deeper sense of meaning and feeling 'alive'.
True fun is characterized by the confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow. When all three are present, an experience is considered 'true fun'.
Playfulness is linked to reduced susceptibility to chronic conditions like dementia and heart disease, and increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein essential for nerve growth and brain development.
Flow is a state of true, active immersion and presence in a challenging activity, where time flies by and one feels good. Junk flow, in contrast, is a passive, zoned-out state, often induced by screens, where time passes without genuine engagement or positive feeling.
Distraction, particularly from smartphones and notifications, and feeling 'time famished' are major fun killers. These factors prevent presence and engagement, which are crucial for true fun.
One effective method is the 'delights practice,' which involves consciously looking for and noting delightful things every day. This practice helps to reorient attention towards positive experiences and fosters presence.
11 Actionable Insights
1. Cultivate True Fun: Play, Connect, Flow
Actively seek out experiences that combine playfulness (a carefree, intrinsically motivating spirit), connection (social togetherness), and flow (true immersion in a challenging activity) to achieve ’true fun’ and enhance well-being.
2. Train Brain to Notice Delights
To reduce distraction and boost playfulness and connection, consciously train your brain to focus on ‘delights’ – attractive things that naturally make you feel good – rather than solely trying to avoid distractions. This practice quickly makes positive observations more frequent and effortless.
3. Practice Daily Delight Noticing
Adopt a daily practice of noticing ‘delights’ by quickly scribbling them down by hand, or simply acknowledging them mentally if short on time. This fosters presence, joy, resilience, and a deep sense of gratitude.
4. Critically Evaluate ‘Fun’ Activities
Don’t casually label activities as ‘fun’; instead, critically investigate how they genuinely make you feel emotionally and physically. This helps distinguish true fun from superficial leisure that may not actually be beneficial for your well-being.
5. Break Distraction & Time Scarcity Cycle
Consciously reduce distractions, especially from devices, to break the cycle of perceived time scarcity and stress. Engaging in genuine fun activities naturally makes device use less appealing without needing willpower.
6. Deliberately Take Fun Breaks
Integrate deliberate breaks for fun activities into your routine. This counter-intuitively leads to increased productivity, more creative ideas, and reduced burnout when returning to tasks.
7. Prioritize Fun for Health & Meaning
Prioritize the pursuit of fun not just for immediate enjoyment, but for long-term physical health (by reducing stress hormones) and to cultivate a deeper sense of meaning and aliveness in life.
8. Sign Up for Desired Activities
Identify one activity you’ve always wanted to do but claim ’no time’ for, then immediately sign up for a class or opportunity to learn it. This can unlock unexpected joy and a sense of purpose, as demonstrated by Catherine Price learning guitar.
9. Seek Enjoyable, Curious Fun
When attempting to reorient towards fun, ensure the process itself feels interesting, curious, and enjoyable, rather than burdensome or like work. If it starts to feel like work, you’re on the wrong path.
10. Distinguish True Flow from Junk Flow
Differentiate between true, active flow (present immersion) and ‘junk flow’ (passive, zoned-out screen time like endless scrolling). Prioritize activities that foster true engagement for genuine fun and well-being, avoiding passive consumption.
11. Cultivate Self-Compassion for Fun
To effectively discover what truly feels fun, cultivate self-compassion when trying new things. Allow for experimentation and new experiences without harsh self-judgment.
5 Key Quotes
What I call true fun is the confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow.
Catherine Price
If you're having fun, you're not going to want to be on your phone. Like, it's just not appealing. You don't have to use willpower. You just don't want to do it because it's less fun than whatever else you're doing.
Catherine Price
I don't want to end up at my deathbed feeling like I never lived. And I think that, and I know that for me, fun is the path that is making me feel that although death is inevitable, at least I am living.
Catherine Price
I'm having fun because this is fun because this is fun because we're having fun over and over again to himself.
Catherine Price
In the midst of profound sorrow, there's like eight purple things that bloom in May. It's ridiculous.
Ross Gay
2 Protocols
Ross Gay's Delight Project Rules
Ross Gay- Do it every day: Commit to finding a delight daily.
- Write by hand: Document the delight manually.
- Write them quickly: Draft each entry in about 30 minutes.
Host's Adapted Delight Practice
Dr. Laurie Santos- Find one delight a day: Actively look for something delightful.
- Scribble quickly: Take no more than a few seconds to write it down.
- Just notice if overwhelmed: On busy days, simply acknowledge the delight without writing.