Know Your Values to Live a Successful Life

 

Fun isn’t a luxury. It’s your birthright and an essential ingredient for your best life. Here’s how to LET yourself have fun.

 

 

 

Fun feels uncomfortable at first.

 

Why?

 

Because joy is one of the most vulnerable emotions we can experience.

 

The legendary Brene Brown, who’s studied decades on the concept of vulnerability says joy is extremely vulnerable because it can feel foreboding, like an anticipation of tragedy or loss.

 

When we are joyful, we doubt it will last long before the other shoe drops.

 

But what kind of world is that? Where we are in a constant state of worry, dread and restriction in case something bad happens?

 

That’s the world most women live in every single day.

 

Everything is so serious, organised and regimented.

 

Especially in Australia with the prominent Tall-poppy-syndrome.

 

What is Tall-poppy-syndrome?

 

It’s a social attitude where poppies (or people in our case) who stand out above the field must be cut down. It’s the ‘don’t be too happy’, ‘don’t be too successful or try too hard’ kind of scrutiny. It’s not outwardly spoken about as much as it is internalised.

 

As a belief system unconsciously developed from Australia’s historical focus on equality, we barely know we do it or conform to it, but it’s everywhere.

 

Adults have next to no fun, so a joyful woman who’s free and wildly sovereign?

 

That rocks the boat. It threatens the status quo. It challenges the norm and attracts resentment from those who do not allow themselves to experience it.

 

In other words, you are NOT crazy for feeling embarrassed or fearful towards being genuinely happy. It’s in our society’s conditioning to downplay our emotions.

 

Fun is just not a priority in our world. But you can make it so.

 

Giving Yourself Permission To Evolve

 

If you’ve spent years being the responsible one, fun can feel like cheating.

 

If you’ve spent decades being a good, dutiful, mother to your children (or your spouse because we all know that can happen), fun can feel unsafe, like a dead-end road.

 

Maybe you’ve spent so long focusing on how productive you can be that fun seems like a waste of time.

 

The longer we play these roles, the easier we can get stuck in them.

 

That’s why NOW is the best time to change your mindset. The sooner you incorporate fun into your life, into your identity, the easier it will be.

 

You may experience resistance towards this and that is totally okay. The key here is to challenge those inner narratives and limiting stories you have about fun.

 

Ask yourself:

• Where have I been taking life too seriously?
• What beliefs keep me from prioritising fun?
• What evidence do I have that proves these beliefs wrong?
• If fun were essential, how would my days look different?
• What could change in my life for the better if I did this?
• What playful part of me is waiting to be expressed again?

 

Let this motivate you. This should feel exciting. A life of fun is a life of happiness. Good things are coming for you on the other side of this activity!

 

A Reframe That Really Helped Me

 

My partner (who is one of those people who has never touched a self-development book but is incredibly wise and a mentor of mine) once said to me: “Bad things are guaranteed to happen in your life. Death, loss, inconvenience. It’s going to happen anyway, so don’t add more to the pile by being negative now, it’s unnecessary.”

 

Sounds easier said than done right?

 

If we keep this top of mind in a way that motivates us, not just reminds us of what bad is to come, we can stop taking life for granted.

 

I believe if we can learn to embrace joy, fun and the possibility that it won’t last forever, we can experience a more full life.

 

If we can learn not to cling to fun, but to invite it in knowing that it will come and go, we will experience it more often.

 

Coming to peace with the impermanence of joy actually enables more of it in our lives.

 

How To Start Having More Fun And Stop Being So Serious!

 

There is certainly a time and place for seriousness.Finances, legal matters, family decisions …But the rest? We can let loose a little.

 

So here are some practical ways you can have MORE fun starting today!

1. Attend A Sanctuary Retreat
   If you’ve met Alexis you know she is a ball of light. Contagious childlike laughs escape her mouth that make your smile widen and your dimples show. Fun is the basis of everything that happens at The Sanctuary. All practices, from kundalini to sound healing to sacred sister circles, clear space for fun to emerge. They detox your body from stress, worry and stuck energy making room for you to raise your vibration. What better way to invite fun into your life than making The Sanctuary a monthly or bi-monthly ritual (We have retreats every 1st Saturday and every 2nd Sunday of the month)
   Book in for your FUN reset at the She’s Unstoppable Retreat on the 1st October 10am-4pm. Book in HERE.
2. Watch Comedy
   If you’re going to spend any time or money on entertainment, why not have a laugh? You can attend a stand up comedy show (The Comedy Store in Moore Park is great!) or put on a funny movie to get that joy bubbling. Laughing, especially shared with others, literally adds YEARS onto your life. Don’t be shy, let it free!
3. Fortnightly Joy Dates
   Whether you’re single or not, mark your calendar every fortnight for something FUN. If you have a partner, prioritise date nights but without the seriousness! The fancy dinners all starting to taste the same? Go play some mini golf, or attend a stand up karaoke. Put on some dancing tunes and make a nice dinner for yourself. Fun is free, use it or lose it.
4. Try A New Hobby
   What sparks your interest that you would like to try? Fun lies in the new so get creative! Do you want to attend a pottery class? A dance class or give pickle-ball a go? Can you start painting on the weekends and let your spirit free?
   Rekindle that childlike imagination and eagerness to get crafty and test out a new hobby. You never know what kind of fun you might have.

Normalise Fun Darling

 

It’s time to normalise fun darling.

 

Play with life, get your hands dirty and grin.

 

Seriousness is the killer of joy. Unnecessary pressure is NOT wellness.

 

Joy, expansion, imagination and creativity is.

 

Drop the embarrassment, drop the shame and PRACTICE it until it becomes a habit.

 

Once it’s natural for you, nothing or no one can take it away from you.

 

 

With love & light,

Liv Ashton.

— The Sanctuary Team