87: How Fun Impacts Our Success

Today’s topic is one that I have been thinking about for quite a while and which has really hit home recently for me - the subject of fun. I ran my third marathon this past weekend, and fun played such a huge role in my success that I want to share the science behind it and the power it holds in all our lives. Too often seen as simply a diversion, infusing fun into our work and personal lives can have extraordinary effects, so let’s dig in together and discover precisely how to achieve this.

I’ll start by sharing my marathon experience and the part that fun played within it, and then we’ll look at the importance of defining what fun means for each of us before diving into the vast amount of scientific studies outlining the many benefits of having fun in our lives. We’ll also explore the positive impact that fun can have in our work, and, perhaps most importantly, I’ll review a number of steps you can start taking today to infuse a spirit of fun in your daily life. The time has come to throw away any old notions of fun being simply a diversion from success and give it the credit it is due for being the actual route to a successful life – let’s begin that work together here today.

If you want to learn how to infuse fun into your life even further, that is something we definitely act upon in my Ascend Mastermind, and, happily, enrollment is now open for the next session, which, in response to some valuable feedback I’ve received, will now be a six month program starting at the end of the summer. If you’re a high achieving entrepreneur or high level professional who is ready to uplevel your health and well-being (mental, emotional, physical) while creating and pursuing goals you actually want then this Mastermind is the perfect opportunity for you. You’ll get to strengthen your habits, get clear on what you want and be held accountable by, and find support among like-minded women as you ascend. Check out the details here: www.kellytravis.net/ascend, and if you would like to hear first hand from someone who has actually gone through one of my Ascend Masterminds, let me know and we can make that happen as well.

As always, if there is ever a topic you would like me to discuss or a guest you’d like me to interview on the podcast, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] - I would love to hear from you!

 

The Finer Details of This Episode:

  Kelly’s third marathon   Defining fun for yourself   The science behind the benefits of having fun   John and Julie Gottman’s work   Fun and work   How to start having fun

 

Quotes:

“He told us all that our number one goal for this particular race was to have fun.”

“I promise you that my success this past weekend has a lot to do with what I shared with you in last week's episode.”

“I did run a PR and I did win the race.”

“I have really learned to appreciate every fumble, every perceived failure, every experience, as a way to get better, as a way to improve, to look for opportunities.”

“People who achieve big things and reach their goals, they're the ones who have fun doing it.”

“Having fun is not a diversion from a successful life, it is the route to get there.” 

“This is who you are, don't stifle the things that you enjoy, because they make us feel better, they help us show up in our lives better.”

“It is the antidote to stress.”

“We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”

“Couples who are happy know how to have fun together.”

“Get clear about what this looks like, and then make time for it.”

“Who cares if I'm not the best runner? If I'm having fun and I'm enjoying it, that is the most important thing.”

“We can look for inspiration from others because sometimes we don't even consider things to be something that could bring us joy.”

“Look for patterns in what was fun.”

“Think about the things that might be falsely creating fun in your life, too, and whether or not you want to keep those around.”

“Play around with being intentional about having more fun.”

“Letting go, as a rule, can create a lot of success.”

 

Show Links:

Kelly’s homepage -  http://www.kellytravis.net

Ascend Mastermind -  www.kellytravis.net/ascend 

   

Research resources:

British Study: https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/1970-british-cohort-study/

Workplace study: https://journals.tdl.org/llm/index.php/llm/article/view/1982