How to Have More Fun in Life

How to Have More Fun in Life...

As a 28-year-old I have started to understand the crushing reality that sometimes life is really boring. If you have stability and regularity, things can get very monotonous for long periods of time. Or, sometimes your life changes a bit and the things you get enjoyment from shifts as you go through different phases in life, leaving you with gaps where you just sit and stare at the wall or at your phone, and you don't know what the hell to do with yourself.

I hope this list gives you some ideas, for how to entertain yourself, how to let loose and how to have more fun overall, even while you're carrying out your daily routine.

Learn a New Language

There are many, many resources nowadays for learning languages. If it's something you've always wanted to do, the time to go for it is now!

Learning a new language is hilarious. There are all sorts of words and phrases you would never have thought of that don't exist in your native tongue. There are fun new syllables to try and words like "makkeliker" to say (phonetic spelling of makkelijker in Dutch, which means "easier"... not an exciting word in its definition... but believe me, it's fun to say).

Collect Things

Whether it's garden gnomes, stones or items you find on the ground, buttons, beads, cards, miniature houses, bugs, books, clothes, jars, art, or anything!

Collecting things is fun because you don't know why it brings you so much joy to hold the item, but it does! And you get to embrace that! You get to bring them home and place them on the windowsill, on the table, or on your bedside. And for some reason, when you look at it, you smile.

Wear Whatever You Want

This has got to be one of my favorites. This actually took me a while to convince myself it was okay to do. I don't know, something about "dress professionally", school dress codes, my mother's need to make sure I left the house "looking acceptable" when I was young (because I "reflect on her" and we grew up in a small town), or other social pressures to dress a certain way made it difficult for me to believe that I could wear anything I want.

Luckily, I had a great aunt who I knew as a child to set a good example. She always showed up with lots of different colors and patterns on, with wild hats and lots of accessories, with hair and skirts flowing, and with strong oils and perfume on, too. I channel my Great Aunt Bobbi often. I buy clothes that I used to be too embarrassed to wear. I get things second hand a lot. I wear hats and funny colors and layer things up depending on my mood. Last week I wore linen pants underneath a long, flowy skirt with a turtle neck tucked in and a big, draping shawl with fringe all around it. I looked like a pioneer woman! For real! It wasn't my intention to; I dressed for comfort and warmth... we were taking a walk on a Sunday afternoon... but I thought, "Oh, what the hell? I can be a pioneer woman today."

It's not every day that I dress up, but sometimes I just feel in the mood to be a little silly and carefree and fabulous. So I put on my elbow-length white gloves, something with tulle or fur on it, and go for a drive! I never regret it.

Decorate Your House in Your Own Quirky Way

I find that a lot of people are at a loss for how to decorate or organize their home. If that describes you, you don't need to look to other people to see how they've done it if you don't want to! There are no rules to life. You can put a scrapbook table in the living room! Turn the pantry into a dress-up closet. Store the bowls on top of the microwave and put the potatoes in the cupboard. Have a coffee machine in your room. Put a Bluetooth speaker in the laundry room and pretend you're at a concert every time you fold clothes. Hang musical instruments all over the walls. Remove all the lights from the sitting room so you have to use candlelight to see. Put little ledges up everywhere for your cats to climb on. Install jungle gym equipment in the hallway so you have the option to walk or monkey-bar across. (This one poses specific challenges for those who are renting LOL).

The point is, do whatever you want with your space. Fit it to your lifestyle, and really let yourself go crazy with it!

Use funny voices and accents to spruce up normal conversations.

How much more fun is it to say, "PLEASE PASS THA BUTTA" then, "Can you hand me the butter?". The answer is exponentially more fun. Designate Wednesdays to British Accent Usage. End your emails with "Cheerio!". Write with your left hand. Pretend you have a speech impediment while you give your child instructions. Whine really loudly unexpectedly. Take up beatboxing. Use your voice to have fun.

Stop holding in your farts.

Farts are funny. If it comes from a respectable adult, it usually surprises people, which is also funny. Everyone farts, but for some reason we don't talk about it. Whether you take this one literally or figuratively, the point is to stop being so up-tight. Stop worrying about acting in a way that's accepted and "respectable". Let out your farts now and then. Let down your hair. Do the unexpected and laugh heartily.

Make fun of yourself.

This is the last one, and it's a good rule to have overall. We all like to be taken seriously, to be valued, held in high esteem, and all that good stuff. But making fun of yourself is like having a super-power. It makes you stronger. It helps you stay on the light side of life, to not take yourself so seriously and not be so upset when things go wrong, you do something embarrassing, or a plan falls through. If you are able to make fun of yourself in life, you, and the people around you, are going to have a lot more fun.