Summer is upon us and I am green with envy. Why do kids get 10 weeks off from the pressures and routine of the daily school grind, 10 weeks of no homework, 10 weeks where the rhythms of daily life are brand new while the adults who make their lives possible carry on with business as usual? Hmmm....

Some adults are unusually great at fun. They find ways to turn even the mundane into the special. They carry with them a light-hearted joie de vivre that makes them magnetic to those around them. But most of us fall down on the fun job. We're playful and relaxed on holidays, but allow our daily lives to become predictable, orderly…even boring. Sound familiar? Believe it or not, almost every single person I have coached has specifically articulated that they're not having enough fun! Whether they've got piles of money in the bank or not enough, whether their career is moving ahead or has slowed or stalled, whether they are in love or not, their fun-ometer readings are dangerously low. What happens to grownups along the journey from childhood to adulthood that enables simple fun to slip so easily out of our daily lives? The obvious answers—work, kids, responsibilities, mortgages – seem insufficient. Of course it is true that the responsibilities of adult life can be extremely challenging. We get worn down and sapped of our playfulness by long days, long drives and long to-do lists. But the truth is, whatever our life circumstance, if we want our lives to be fun we have to make fun a priority. We have to remember how very important fun is. Children know it is their inalienable right to play, and we would do well to take a page or two from their book which would tell us: 1. Do more of what you like and less of what you don't like. This seems obvious but take a glance at your life and honestly look at what you have a blast doing and notice how much time you really spend doing it! Then make a conscious decision to do more of it. If money is no object, then there's really no excuse. It's all a matter of choice--- how do you choose to spend your time. If money is tight and your favorite activities are pricey, more planning will be required. So you must make a plan, set the intention, juggle your finances and find a way to do some of what you love. It's that important. 2. Expand your horizons to include FUN that is easily accessible and cheap. Scuba diving, exotic travel and bungee jumping just don't qualify. What do you enjoy that you can do often and easily? In pursuit of fun, a client of mine is taking up tango classes. Another joined a very silly running club called the Hash House Harriers whose motto is "a drinking club with a running problem." Another heads to the beach at sunset once a week with a bottle of wine and a friend. 3. Do things that make you laugh out loud. By definition, laughter is fun. Seriousness is not. Even if you're not finding your life particularly funny, you still need to laugh. You cannot have a good belly laugh and remain highly tense at the same time. Try it, and see. So go to a comedy club, go to Blockbuster and rent a really funny movie, have someone tickle your feet, join a laughing club—yes, they exist. Find a way to laugh so hard your stomach is tired. 4. Dare to be silly. This is different from mere laughing though certainly the two are relatives! We get so caught up in looking good, or acting the way we think we should, that we curtail our actions, our words, our dress so that we blend in. The fun thing about silliness is we get to laugh at ourselves—at our quirky, idiosyncratic, goofy little selves. Take a gamble and do something silly, outlandish, nutty. Something that reminds you not to take yourself so seriously. Let the goofball out for a walk—even if you're the only one there to witness the delight. 5. Create Mini Vacations. One day a month completely empty your schedule and enjoy a entire 24 hour period where your whimsy and spontaneity rule. Don't plan the day in advance. If your body needs to take a three-hour nap, so be it. If what you really want to do is clean the closet, who are we to say 'you're nuts!' If you feel like exploring, go somewhere you haven't been. This is a day where there are absolutely no 'shoulds' and if you just give yourself a chance, you might really have a wonderful, simple, very fun day. So, in the name of fun, my invitation to every one of us is to throw a little caution to the wind, to pursue delight, giggles and guffaws and pure unadulterated play as if our lives depended on them. Because you know what? They do.