The notes are a transcript of a TED Talk by Catherine Price, entitled “Why Having Fun Is the Secret to a Healthier Life”. In the talk, Price argues that people today are not necessarily living, but are simply doing, and suggests that the key to feeling alive is to have more fun. She presents a new definition of what fun is, which she argues consists of three factors: playfulness, connection, and flow. She explains that fun is energizing, makes us present, unites us, and makes us healthier. Price offers practical suggestions for how to increase fun in our lives, such as reducing distractions, interacting more with others, finding opportunities to rebel, and prioritizing fun. She concludes by urging people to treat fun as if it is important, and to make time for it in their lives.
My notes from this TED Talk
- Feeling truly alive is difficult and requires more than just keeping ourselves busy.
- We need to have more fun in our lives to feel truly alive and joyful.
- The word “fun” is often used to describe anything we do with our leisure time, even if it’s not actually enjoyable, and in fact, a waste of time.
- The dictionary’s definition of fun as amusement or enjoyment makes it sound like it’s frivolous and optional.
- Fun is not just lighthearted pleasure. It’s the secret to feeling alive.
- Fun is a feeling, not an activity. It’s a state of playfulness, connection, and flow.
- Playfulness is the lighthearted attitude of doing things for the sake of doing them and not caring too much about the outcome. It’s letting go of perfectionism.
- Connection refers to the feeling of having a special, shared experience, often involving another person.
- Flow is the state where we are so engaged and focused on whatever we’re doing that we can even lose track of time. It’s the feeling of being in the zone.
- Fun energizes us, makes us present, unites us, and makes us healthier.
- To have more fun, we need to focus on its ingredients – playfulness, connection, and flow – and do everything we can to fill our lives with more moments of these.
- To increase flow, we need to reduce distractions, especially our phones.
- To increase connection, we need to interact more with other human beings in real life, make eye contact, say hello, introduce ourselves, and ask thought-provoking questions.
- To increase playfulness, we need to find opportunities to rebel, but not in a dangerous or harmful way. We need to give ourselves permission to break the rules of responsible adulthood and get a kick out of our own lives.
- We need to prioritize fun in our lives and treat it as important because it is.
- Having more fun can make us more creative, productive, resilient, and better partners, parents, and friends.
- Fun is the distillation of life’s energy, and the more often we experience it, the more alive we will feel.
Coffee & Grilled Cheese 