Let Yourself Have More Fun

Yesterday, at the beginning of a yoga class, the teacher asked, "What does success look like to you in everyday life?" I thought about this question for the rest of the class and found myself overwhelmed by different answers. Success in daily life looks like trying my hardest every day, showing kindness to the people around me, being myself, and participating in activities that help me grow and learn.

At the end of class, the teacher said that her measure of success is, "Would my past self be proud of what I'm doing today?"

At that moment, I thought about the younger version of myself. I do think she'd be proud of me. She'd love that I've found my way into a creative industry, that I have my own apartment where I spend time baking and reading, that I've been able to travel to new places, and that I surround myself with extraordinary people. Then I wondered: Is there anything my younger self would think my present self is missing?

The first word that came to mind was fun. It's not that I don't have fun now—I do. But during the weekdays, it often gets pushed to the back burner as I fall into the rhythm of hard work and everyday responsibilities like laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping. It's easy to slip into a routine and simply stay there.

This idea of having more fun was also sparked by watching the Winter Olympics. Alysa Liu said something that I think we can all learn from: "What I like to share about myself is my story, my art, and my creative process," she told NBC News. "I guess messing up doesn't take away from that. It's still something; it's still a story. A bad story is still a story, and I think that's beautiful. There's no way to lose."

She was never tied to winning—she was just happy to be performing at the Olympics. That mindset allowed her to perform without nerves. She was just out there having fun. It not only showed, but it paid off.

I think the world feels refreshed

by Alysa Liu because she doesn't fit into the "grind culture" that is so popular in society today, which encourages nonstop, grueling work in the pursuit of success. Not only does this often lead to burnout, but the journey itself becomes exhausting when it could be revitalizing.

To counter this, I've started shifting my view of productivity. It's easy to associate that word with cubicles and spreadsheets, but productivity can also mean painting because it brings you joy—even if you're not good at it—or waking up early to spend time in the sun before starting your day. Shifting from a strict corporate mindset to one that is more fluid and abundant in joy isn't easy, but incorporating small acts that bring joy to yourself and others can make it more attainable, little by little. And don't get me wrong, hard work is essential, even vital—but like everything in life, it requires balance. When that balance is disrupted, we feel it. Stress takes over, and we lose sight of all the richness life has to offer.

When we choose fun over constantly pushing ourselves to the limit, we release some of the intensity that weighs on our daily lives. We begin to see the world in a brighter light, not as something rigid and demanding, but as something elastic and full of possibility. In that space, there is always room to grow, to shift, and to begin again.