One of the first pieces of advice Dr Mike Rucker gives in his book about fun is to throw away your iron. Ironing, he contends, is “agonising”. It’s a needless, thankless task that monopolises time that could be better spent enjoying exuberant, uplifting fun. Play is good for your body, mind and soul. Ironing offers none of that.
“Unless you’re in a handful of fields that demand starch, you could probably throw out your iron and nobody would notice,” the organisational psychologist writes in The Fun Habit.
As far as self-help messages go, it’s an easy one to obey. But that makes it no less important. For Dr Rucker, fun is serious business. He believes we are in an epidemic of drudgery that is not only sapping our vitality but destroying our mental and physical health.
“We live in a world which is critically fun starved,” he tells me over the phone from his Californian home. “We’re conditioned, as we age, to believe that trying to have fun is childish, even inappropriate. We undervalue the mental and physical benefits of fun.
“There’s emerging research that’s making the case that leisure and fun are as vital as sleep,” he continues. “There’s the need for rest and then there’s the need for restoration.”
We know, intuitively, that enjoying ourselves reduces stress but it goes far deeper than that. When we do something spontaneous, surprising or unexpected, we create special moments. “When we’re indexing those memories, it creates neuro-plasticity,” Dr Rucker says. Fun is good for our brains.
この記事は The Australian Women's Weekly の July 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Australian Women's Weekly の July 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Maggie's kitchen
Maggie Beer's delicious veg patties - perfect for lunch, dinner or a snack - plus a simple nostalgic pudding with fresh passionfruit.
Reclaim your brain
Attention span short? Thoughts foggy? Memory full of gaps? Brigid Moss investigates the latest ways to sharpen your thinking.
The girls from Oz
Melbourne music teacher Judith Curphey challenged the patriarchy when she started Australia's first all-girls choir. Forty years later that bold vision has 6500 members, life-changing programs and a new branch of the sisterhood in Singapore.
One kid can change the world
In 2018, 10-year-old Jack Berne started A Fiver for a Farmer to raise funds for drought relief. He and mum Prue share what happened next.
AFTER THE WAVE
Twenty years ago, the Boxing Day tsunami tore across the Indian Ocean, shredding towns, villages and holiday resorts, and killing hundreds of thousands of people from Indonesia to Africa. Three Australians share their memories of terror, loss and survival with The Weekly.
PATRICIA KARVELAS How childhood tragedy shaped me
Patricia Karvelas hustled hard to chase her dreams, but it wasn't easy. In a deeply personal interview, the ABC host talks about family loss, finding love, battles fought and motherhood.
Ripe for the picking
Buy a kilo or two of fresh Australian apricots because they're at their peak sweetness now and take inspiration from our lush recipe ideas that showcase this divine stone fruit.
Your stars for 2025
The Weekly’s astrologer, Lilith Rocha, reveals what’s in store for your astrological sign in 2025. For your monthly horoscope, turn to page 192.
MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently'
One year on from going public with her bowel cancer diagnosis, Mel Schilling reveals where she's at with her health journey and how it's changed her irrevocably.
Nothing like this Dame Judi
A few weeks before her 90th birthday, the acting legend jumped on a phone call with The Weekly to talk about her extraordinary life – and what’s still to come.