You may think nothing is serious about having fun; however, did you know having fun is one of the best things you can do to improve your mental health?
Fun invites you to create more space for life to be enjoyed, with moments that make you laugh, smile and play.
Fun is finding ways to make the ordinary things extraordinary, and simply enjoying the surroundings you are in.
No doubt you know when you have fun, you feel good, and it gives you warmth in your heart.
However, did you know fun boosts the production of happy chemicals in our brain?
The neurochemicals dopamine and serotonin get released when you’re having fun, and this lifts your mood. It is extremely hard to feel sad or depressed when you’re having fun.
Give yourself permission to have fun.
For many years, I felt guilty when I wanted to take some time off to enjoy myself, especially while my staff were working.
However, when I do take a break to have fun, I know I become a much better version of myself and can be more present and giving to others.
Since 2017 at GreenX7, we have been measuring the wellbeing of individuals, teams and organisations, and one thing has become abundantly clear: we have forgotten how to have fun through play.
While measuring the decline in play, the data was also pointing to an alarming rise of loneliness, chronic disease, vitamin D deficiency, depression and suicide.
Overall, our data highlighted the growing trend of people spending more time indoors by themselves, spectating on screens, and less time outdoors participating in life with others.
What if we redefined play as a way of life, and not just something we do if we have some scrap of time left over?
Here’s how I now define play:
p urposeful l eisure a ctivating y outhfulness.
Because when you really look at the ingredients that make up play, you also start to understand how powerful it can be in preventing loneliness, chronic disease, depression and boredom.
Here are some further positive effects play can have on your wellbeing:
• Boosting brain function and creativity
• Reducing stress and enhances mental wellbeing
• Improving social connections and relationships
• Supporting emotional resilience and mental agility
• Enhancing physical health and energy levels
• Keeping you feeling youthful and engaged in life.
Have I convinced you to also always have a fun bag on hand?
Having fun at work and with your team
We also need to take a serious look at how we include fun into our culture at work, and one of the best ways to do this is through looking at Dr Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s work on flow, which describes a psychological state of deep focus, immersion and enjoyment in an activity.
This state occurs when skill level and challenge are balanced, leading to enhanced performance, creativity and intrinsic motivation.
Being a state of flow is linked to greater wellbeing and peak human experiences, often found in sports, arts and work.
As Dr Csikszentmihalyi noted, ‘Play is flow in its purest form – we become completely absorbed in the moment, lose track of time, and perform at our peak’.
Flow and play interlink in the following ways at work:
• encouraging creativity and innovation
• improving intrinsic motivation and productivity
• reducing stress and increasing wellbeing
• promoting collaboration and engagement.
Consider the following ways to integrate play into your and your teams’ workday:
• Introduce short, playful energiser activities during breaks —for example, ‘thumb wars’.
• Foster creativity with hands-on, playful brainstorming sessions.
• Encourage team challenges and friendly competitions.
• Allow for flexible work setups that include playful furniture or activity zones.
• Integrate nature-based activities into the workday.
• Organise themed workdays or spontaneous fun activities.
• Encourage social connection through collaborative, playful experiences.
• Create a company culture that values light-heartedness and fun in daily tasks.
• Allow time for unstructured play and creative thinking.
Don’t feel guilty about having fun. You deserve to let your hair down – life is for living. Your team will also thank you for it.
Edited extract from Energised: The Daily Practice of Connected Leadership and Sustainable Wellbeing (Wiley $32.95) by Tim Jack Adams. Tim is a global speaker and a pioneering thought leader in human sustainability and performance and has spent over a decade guiding leaders and teams to reconnect with themselves and others through nature. Join The Great Reconnect movement at http://www.greenx7.com
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