On Fun

[jducoeur]

One highlight of the day today was the sending to Pelican vigil of Master Robyyan, an old friend from the dance community.  In his vigil book, I mentioned Rule #1, which I cite frequently these days:

Do what's Fun.
Don't do what's not Fun.

And it reminded me that people have challenged me on that several times, citing the necessity of unfun.  But I want to push back on that a bit.

Unfun can be a necessary evil, but it's less necessary than often believed.  If something is unfun, see what you can do to change that.  Sometimes that's a matter of finding the joy in what you're doing.  (For instance, the discovery of the cameraderie of doing dishes after the event for an hour.)  Sometimes it is changing the task to be more fun.  (Kobayashi Maru cheats can be a blast.)  Sometimes it's finding the person for whom it *is* fun to do it instead.  (Remember, delegation in a good thing on many levels.)  Sometimes, it's challenging your assumptions and saying, "Why are we doing this unfun thing anyway?"

And yes, occasionally you have to suck it up and just accept the unfun stoically.  But you'd be surprised how often one of the above techniques can be applied if you're willing to put some imagination into it, and how much healthier you'll be for it.

So don't just accept unfun.  Rule #1 matters - it's the heart of survival in the SCA or any other organization, and it's worth trying to live by...

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

Comments

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

This is so true. And I think it's why I eventually left the SCA. I realized that I just wasn't having the fun I'd had back when I first joined. Events felt like obligations, and I was also starting to feel like a failure for not having reached certain milestones. Expensive hobbies shouldn't leave you feeling like a failure.

[unicornpearlz.livejournal.com]

I tried to leave the SCA for the same reason. Now I'm back. But,I'm taking a GIANT step away from the stressors.

[jducoeur]

Exactly the right thing to do. I try to keep an eye on the stressors, and change what I'm doing before they overwhelm me. (After 20-some years of that, this is why I'm known as such a dilettante.)

[jducoeur]

Yeah, that's not unusual. The Society has a lot of strengths, but one weakness is a Responsibility meme that sometimes runs amuck. This is part of why I always watch myself for burnout, and try to pro-actively change tracks when I see it coming at me, before I get to that point...