The Fun Habit: How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life

The Fun Habit by Mike Rucker is a great read. The book has great advice on how to create fun and addresses different aspects (by chapter) where this applies to life, for instance, with adult friends, with kids, etc. It reveals some interesting vantage points, for instance, stop seeking happiness and start seeking fun. How smart is that? Happiness can be illusive and ill-defined, which makes trying to “find happiness” leave you empty and questioning if you’ve found enough. But creating fun, that’s easy to do in small ways that really does impact how you feel. Doesn’t everyone feel better after experiencing a little fun?

The chapter on having fun with children was spot on to me as well. The key to being happy as a parent of children is to immerse yourself in their needs and find joy in their joy. I loved playing with my kids as toddlers. I mean I truly enjoyed building train tracks and doing art projects (to an extent of course), but teenagers, that’s a bit harder for me. But I get the idea of finding joy in their joy. It may be a movie they enjoy or learning to dye their hair, but as a parent, what Dr. Rucker says about finding fun in their fun is very good advice.

I appreciated his nods to research as well. He often quotes a study but doesn’t go so far in depth as to make it boring, just enough to give his point credibility and move along with another interesting story to illustrate the point of the research. Overall, this is a great book and one that I look forward to sharing with others.