I have been thinking about this question a lot after I came across it in a book I have been reading – ‘Better than Before’ by Gretchen Rubin. It’s a book about habits and habit change that has challenged me to consider how I can build on my existing good habits and remedy my not-so-good ones. There is plenty to think about in this book but this question posed by Gretchen towards the start of the book, part of a list of questions designed to help you know yourself better, has been really challenging me.
This is because I have no idea what I would do with $500 to have fun.
In fact, I am not sure what I do for fun.
I love to spend time with my children, watch TV with my husband and go out for coffee. I enjoy baking and often I am at my most peaceful and content when I am reading or writing but I am not sure that I would say that any of these constitute fun in the sense that it means amusement, or light-hearted pleasure. In any case, they are not activities that cost $500.
So what could I do with $500 that would be fun? I asked some of my students and colleagues today and they came up with a whole heap of suggestions: bungee jumping, a trip to a theme park, a fancy dinner, a spa day, shopping spree or going to a concert. They are all valid and thoughtful suggestions but none of them really sounds like ‘me’ so what activities do sound like me?
I think I have found this questions so challenging because it leads into even more difficult questions to answer.
What is your passion?
What do you love to do?
What does fun mean to you?
Truthfully….I am not sure what my answer to any of these questions really is. Are you?
My life is a whirl of work and mummy related activities. I gain satisfaction from my work, but I wouldn’t describe it as fun. I know what my children do for fun and what they love to do and I love watching them develop and discover what they are passionate about but I guess I have forgotten my own sense of fun and I want to get it back. So I am embarking on a new project – a quest to have more fun. I haven’t exactly got a $500 budget – in fact my funds are as limited as they usually are, but I am determined to actively seek out new ways to add fun to my life in the hope that this answer will help remind me of exactly what I am really passionate about and what it is that I really love to do!
As soon as I select my first purposefully ‘fun’ activity I will post about it but in the meantime, how would you answer this question? What would you do if you had $500 to spend purely on fun?
Breadthoflife 