It's a Lot of Work to Have This Much Fun
Types of Fun
I hate getting on the stationary bike. Every morning, I look at it, sigh, play with the cats, procrastinate, make a coffee, manage my finances, and then eventually I climb up on the damn stationary bike and watch something on TV for thirty minutes while spinning my legs around and wishing it was over. And when it’s over, I feel good – and not just glad that it’s over. I feel glad I did it.
Is riding the stationary bike fun? I did it for my own benefit, I’m glad I did it, and nobody was paying me to do it, and I keep making the decision to do it, so it must be some kind of fun, right? It sure doesn’t feel like fun.
Somebody once gave me some useful terms to make sense of this seeming contradiction: these things that are, yet are not fun. It’s hard to figure out where it came from originally, but the earliest reference I can find is this post about outdoor activities.
It divides fun into three types:
Type I fun is enjoyable while it’s happening. This is, let’s say, the classic sort of fun.
Type II fun is enjoyable more in retrospect, or for its output. A workout (for me at least) is Type II fun.
Type III fun is neither fun when it happens, nor fun in retrospect, but it makes a good story. When something disastrous happens, sometimes we can make it a little better by reminding ourselves that it’ll make a good story.
Not the catchiest terms, but it’s a useful distinction. And if we blur the lines a little bit, and say Type II fun is anything you’ll enjoy having done, but that might be hard to do in the moment, the concept could expand to include: eating right, getting up on time, cleaning the litter box, saving money for retirement. Any of those things we say we should be doing for ourselves, but often don’t.
The more I think about it, the more I think that a lot of the self help industry is about giving us tools to do Type II fun. Creating habits can make it easier to get started on a Type II fun activity. Creating a checklist is a form of gamification – making a game (Type I fun) out of completing Type II fun.
Even morality and ethics might have to do with Type II fun – we’d rather live in a world where everybody’s kind of respectful to one another (it’s fun to be in such a world), but sometimes it’s work to maintain those relationships, or not steal delicious steaming pecan pies off of our neighbor’s windowsill (even if the smell is so delicious it causes you to float through the air). The prospect of Type I fun is in conflict with those Type II fun goals.
Contact and Feedback
If you’re enjoying the podcast, tell a friend! Forward a newsletter, reshare our Facebook or LinkedIn posts, send them to https://hindsightretros.substack.com,
… or have them search for “Hindsight Retros” in their podcast app.
We love any feedback from listeners. Have you put any of this into practice in your own life? Any ideas that stick with you?
Give us feedback, by emailing us at feedback@hindsightretros.com.
Follow us at hindsightretros.substack.com
Read more at hindsightretros.com
Email us at feedback@hindsightretros.com
Follow us on Instagram @hindsightretros
Follow Sue Lueder on LinkedIn
Follow John Reese on LinkedIn