It’s Hard Work Having Fun

“My angel MIL always had a collection of family idioms to employ for any given situation- usually to lighten a mood. My favorite, “It’s hard work having fun!” is one I will say when I’m schlepping my family’s stuff to and from the beach/pool. Or when I’ve set up some messy craft that requires a longer cleanup time than I’d like. It just puts things in perspective and reminds me that making memories can be effortful and still totally worth it!”

“This is true on so many levels! It's not just the question of logistics, though logistics can be critical to some kinds of pleasure. It's also hard work to know yourself well enough to find your joys, to be sensitive to the differences between types of fun, and to manage the inevitable process of hedonic adaptation. I could spend a year training my students to do this and it still wouldn't be enough.”