The Mel Robbins Podcast

Try This Today: 6 Small Ways to Have More Fun Even When Life Feels Hard

October 6, 2025

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  • Micro moments of fun, including laughter and silliness, are critical for happiness and resilience, and their absence can contribute to burnout and numbness. 
  • Fun is defined by three essential ingredients: playfulness (not taking yourself too seriously), connection (sharing experiences with others), and flow (being fully immersed in the moment). 
  • To actively bring more fun into life, listeners should implement six small, intentional shifts, such as 'wearing the pink glasses' (making one small fun change) and actively saying 'yes' to opportunities for fun. 

Segments

Life Lacks Fun and Silliness
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(00:00:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Modern life feels less fun due to burnout, stress, and the pressure to curate perfect social media aesthetics.
  • Summary: People often feel life lacks excitement because they are too burnt out or stressed to express their true personalities. Social media curation encourages portraying a specific look over genuinely having fun. This societal shift is evident in public spaces, like restaurants, where conversation and laughter have been replaced by silence and scrolling.
Fun is Essential for Health
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(00:02:15)
  • Key Takeaway: Micro moments of fun are critical for happiness and resilience, acting as an antidote to burnout and anxiety.
  • Summary: Fun is not frivolous; research proves that small daily moments of joy, laughter, and silliness are vital for health. These moments help individuals cope with difficult times, lower stress hormones, and increase immune system resilience. Fun is framed as a necessity that energizes people and makes life worth living.
Defining Fun: Play, Connection, Flow
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(00:13:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Fun is composed of three core ingredients: playfulness, connection, and flow, which together eliminate worry and stress.
  • Summary: According to Catherine Price’s book, fun requires playfulness, meaning one is not taking themselves too seriously. Connection, usually involving others, amplifies the experience of fun. Flow occurs when one is so immersed in the moment that worries about the past or future disappear.
Actionable Step 1: Small Fun Changes
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(00:17:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Injecting fun does not require grand gestures; one small, intentional change, like ‘wearing the pink glasses,’ can shift your mood.
  • Summary: One small fun change, such as wearing brightly colored or unusual accessories, can immediately create more fun and playfulness. Other examples include playing favorite music while doing chores or suggesting a walk during lunch instead of working through it. These tiny shifts help create the necessary ingredients for fun without feeling like a large production.
Actionable Step 2: Say Yes to Fun
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(00:27:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Overcoming the tendency to say ’no’ to potential fun experiences is crucial, often by reframing the activity as being ‘for the plot’ or story.
  • Summary: Many opportunities for fun are missed because people automatically decline invitations due to perceived inconvenience or fear of performance. Saying yes, even to things one might be nervous about, generates great stories later, even if the activity itself isn’t immediately enjoyable. This openness is required to experience playfulness and connection.
Actionable Step 3: Be Bad At It
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(00:29:55)
  • Key Takeaway: Embracing the state of being bad at something removes performance pressure and grants others permission to also be silly and imperfect.
  • Summary: People who are good at everything are often performing for perfection, which hinders genuine fun. Being terrible at a new activity, like golf or dancing, removes the pressure to win or nail every note. This vulnerability allows for self-laughter and encourages others around you to lighten up.
Actionable Step 4: Drive the Fun Bus
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(00:32:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Instead of waiting for invitations, take responsibility for initiating fun by being the first person to stand up, joke, or start an activity.
  • Summary: Taking responsibility for initiating fun means actively driving the ‘fun bus’ rather than waiting for someone else to create the opportunity. Seeing someone else have fun makes others wired to join in, as demonstrated by starting a wave at a stadium or being the first on a wedding dance floor. Assigning yourself the role of ‘driver of fun’ makes the effort intentional.
Actionable Step 5: Let Them Judge
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(00:41:23)
  • Key Takeaway: The fear of judgment from others is the primary barrier to having fun, requiring listeners to actively ’let them’ think what they will.
  • Summary: The fear of being perceived as ‘cringy,’ ’too much,’ or embarrassing prevents people from being playful and silly. Miserable or uptight people judge those having fun; therefore, one must let them be miserable while prioritizing personal enjoyment. Being unapologetically oneself, even if awkward, makes one a light source that others are drawn toward.
Actionable Step 6: Stop Saying You’re Too Old
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(00:46:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Adulthood should not eliminate the playful, colorful, and silly activities enjoyed in childhood; you are never too old to embrace joy.
  • Summary: Adults often trade genuine fun for beige, perfect aesthetics suitable for social media, abandoning activities like wearing costumes or enjoying bright colors. Examples like a 30-year-old attempting backflips show that age is not a barrier to playful pursuits. Starting to have more fun today is the best way to feel alive, energized, and capable.