Have Fun. I Dare You.

Why do we wait to have fun once we reach a certain age?

Of course, there are times in life, a lot of times in our adult lives, when having fun needs to be put on the back burner. Work, children, responsibilities, all the things that need our time and attention.

But what happens when we get stuck in, let’s call them, “adult routines” that limit our ability to have even an ounce of fun?

It’s healthy to have goals, ambition and drive. It’s important to understand when we need to hunker down and get things done in order to accomplish something deeply meaningful to us. And sometimes there are things completely out of our control that simply must be dealt with before we can feel the levity of a weight finally lifted from our chest.

Bills to pay. Kids to take to school. A job that demands our time and attention so we can pay the rent, put food on the table and, well, survive.

But what happens when all of those adult pressures cloud our ability to remember what it means to have fun?

I’m not talking about luxurious fun. An expensive vacation. A fancy dinner. Having fun can be as simple as doing something you love, or something you loved when you were a kid, without worrying about whether it is productive, impressive or useful.

There was something we intrinsically loved as children that brought us joy simply because it was fun. Maybe it was dancing, singing, playing make-believe, being silly, laughing until our stomachs hurt, playing board games, drawing or running around outside.

And somewhere along the way, many of us suppress some of that joy under the weight of responsibility.

I talk a lot about creativity in my writing because I believe it is invaluable to hold onto as we age. It gives us space to think beyond our adult realities and pressures. But today I’m talking about something even simpler.

Fun.

Fun can be a home-cooked meal in your apartment with friends, laughing and telling stories around the table. An evening at a dive bar playing darts. A free dance class in Central Park. Heading out to hear live music or see a play. Playing cards. Dancing in your living room. Calling an old friend who makes you laugh.

So much of what brings us joy doesn’t have to cost much of anything.

Maybe it’s just me, but the older I get, the more I realize that laughter, smiling and integrating fun into our lives on a regular basis isn’t frivolous. It’s necessary for our well-being. Those moments of playfulness can give us a break from stress, help us move through difficult emotions and sometimes change our perspective on something that only hours earlier seemed impossibly heavy.

Fun doesn’t make our problems disappear. It doesn’t pay the bills, finish the work or solve the difficult relationship conversation.

But it reminds us that our problems are not the entirety of our lives.

As fall leans in to shower us with color before winter rears her frigid head, I encourage you to welcome a little more fun into your life.

Maybe there is something you lost from childhood that you wish you could get back.

You can.

Or maybe there’s some zany thing floating around in your mind that you’ve always wanted to try. Go to the comedy show. Dance badly. Call the old friend. Make a new one. Play the game. Sing the song. Try something you’ve never done before.

Laughter and fun can be powerful companions, particularly when we’re navigating the more challenging parts of our lives.

Don’t keep waiting to have fun because you think that’s the adult, responsible or mature thing to do.

There will always be another responsibility.

There will always be something that needs your attention.

We have one life. Live it fully.

Make room for the work, the pressure and the realities of being an adult.

But make room for the fun, too.