Try It for 1 Week_ 6 Small Ways to Bring Back the Happiness, Energy, and Fun

Mel Robbins

If you feel like nothing feels exciting or fun anymore, you’re not alone.   In today’s episode, Mel shares 6 small ways you can break out of autopilot and live with more joy, fun, and energy.   If you’re tired of feeling numb, heavy, or stuck in a routine, this episode is your wake-up call.   Mel proves to you today that you can have more fun, even when life feels hard.   Practice these simple shifts, and over time you’ll feel brighter, lighter, and more alive than you have in years.   This episode will teach you:  -Why having fun is the secret to a healthy life   -How to stop taking everything so seriously  -The most important truth about joy that is proven through research  -How to start saying yes to fun instead of talking yourself out of it  -Why being bad at something is the secret to more joy  -How to drop the fear of judgment  -To reconnect with the things that make you feel truly alive  -How to start being the “fun person” in your group of friends   Bring the fun back to your life. Learn the simple steps that bring back your energy, spark your own joy, and make life exciting again.   Every day is a chance to smile. Laugh about the stupid stuff, and feel more alive. Don’t waste it.   For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page: https://www.melrobbins.com/episode/ep...   Get tickets to Mel's live tour, Let Them Tour 2026: https://www.melrobbins.com/the-let-th...  Follow The Mel Robbins Podcast on Instagram:   / themelrobbinspodcast     I’m just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist, and this podcast is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I’ll see you in the next episode.  In this episode: 00:00 Welcome 1:03: Why Life Feels Boring (And What To Do About It) 13:17: One Small Shift to Instantly Feel More Joy 20:10: The Power of Saying “Yes” 22:50 Why Being Terrible at Something Is the Secret to More Fun 25:45 How to Create Fun Now 32:16 How to Let People Judge You and Still Have a Blast 37:14 You’re Never Too Old to Have Fun

Transcript

00:00Hey, it's your friend, Mel, and today on the podcast, you and I are talking about six simple

00:04ways I've lost my five to have more fun and why in a moment like this, it's more important than

00:10ever that you do. Fun is what makes you human. Fun is what makes life worth living. Fun isn't

00:15optional. Fun is how you feel alive again. Dr. Judith Joseph's research has found that small

00:22daily moments of joy and fun are essential for your life, for your health, for your resilience.

00:28Your fear of being cringy, your fear of being judged is the single reason why you're not driving

00:37the fun bus in your own life. You must stop caring about what other people think. Let them judge you.

00:45Bring back the chaos. Bring back the nonsense. Bring back the fun. So how about you and I have some fun?

00:53Hey, it's your friend, Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast.

00:58And I want to start out our conversation by reading you this post that came across my feed.

01:07It's written by a writer and an editor named Barry Rogers at The Hindu, which is India's national

01:13newspaper. Let me read this post to you. People are not fun anymore. Not in that wild, chaotic,

01:19laugh till your stomach hurts way. Everyone's just tired, polite, curated. You go out and it's like

01:28someone turned the volume down on the entire human race. A few tables might still be buzzing, you know,

01:34people actually talking, cackling, being alive, but the rest? Couples eating in silence. Friends

01:41scrolling through reels while their drinks sweat on the table. Everyone just vaguely present, but

01:47emotionally on airplane mode. We've somehow swapped personality for polish. No one wants to be the loud

01:55one or the weird one or the one who talks too much. Instead, we're all trading the same three opinions

02:01and saying, oh, I saw this on Instagram. Like it's a personality trait. It's exhausting. People had

02:08quirks. They had ridiculous stories, terrible jokes, a sense of humor that wasn't borrowed from a meme page.

02:15Conversations didn't become disclaimers. You could say something stupid and laugh it off.

02:20You could be dumb, dorky, deeply unserious. And no one was trying to cancel you for not being

02:28aesthetic enough. We need to bring that back. The messy, the unfiltered fun, the art of talking

02:35complete nonsense, the joy of making each other laugh without needing to be clever. Honestly, some of the

02:43best conversations happen when you're just being silly and slightly unhinged. Not when you're performing

02:49your best LinkedIn version of yourself over dinner. That's what's missing. Real people,

02:56real personalities. Not everything needs to be intellectual or intentional. Sometimes it's okay

03:03to talk about the dumbest things. Sometimes a joke is just a joke. And sometimes laughing at yourself

03:13is the healthiest thing you can do. Bring back the chaos. Bring back the nonsense. Bring back the people

03:21who interrupt you mid-sentence with an even worse story. Bring back the fun. I don't know about you,

03:31but holy cow, did that post really hit home for me? And also just consider, this is a post written by

03:40somebody who is probably halfway around the world because they're a writer and editor for India's

03:46largest newspaper, which means everybody everywhere is kind of experiencing this. That there's been this

03:51massive shift that we're all so weighed down by everything going on in the world. Like just stop

03:58and think about it. How much time you spend on your phone and you're so focused on how you're being

04:04perceived by other people that it just feels like life isn't fun anymore. Plus, you're probably

04:10exhausted. So fun feels like it's going to be a lot of work. And when you're exhausted, you don't want

04:17to do anything that feels like a lot of work. And look, I don't want to have a conversation about fun

04:22without saying, look, there's some very real problems in the world. But what we need to talk about

04:27is how do you bring back the lightheartedness, the joy, the playfulness, the silliness, the laughter

04:34that you and I remember happening? Because fun is not a luxury. It's not something that just is for

04:40kids or for birthday parties. Fun's a necessity in life. Fun energizes you. It helps you connect with

04:46other people. It lowers your stress. It makes you healthier. And I was inspired to talk about this

04:52both because of that post that Barry wrote, but also because of my friend Char. My friend Char

04:58is so fun. I just spent a weekend with her and she inspired me so much because she brings the fun

05:06everywhere we go. And so we were spending the weekend together. It was four couples and they

05:12signed us up for this like three hole, not three hole. It's a nine hole three. No, it wasn't a three

05:17par either. See, I don't even really understand golf, but I said, yes, I'm going to say, yes,

05:21I'm going to go play golf because everyone else is going and I'm going to have fun. And it was a

05:25golf tournament that was nine holes and they had a theme. And the theme was the 1970s legends.

05:34And so it was not only a tournament. So here I don't play golf. And so immediately I'm like,

05:39a tournament. I even wrote to the club and was like, are you sure it's okay? Like I don't even own

05:44golf shoes. I can swing a club. I can have a lot of fun. I can drive the cart, but I don't want to be in

05:50a tournament where people are going to be super uptight. And then they're upset that somebody

05:54really terrible. And he's like, no, no, no, no. It's a scramble. I don't even know what a scramble

05:57means, but I think it means that if you don't play golf, you can play golf. But there was this

06:01theme to this golf tournament and it was 1970s legend. And because Char was the host and because

06:08she is the ambassador of fun, she was like, we're dressing up, make sure you pack a costume.

06:14And so Chris and I racked our brains. We're like, okay, what costume are we going to do? Plus it's

06:18probably going to be 80 degrees. Plus we need to swing a golf club. So I'm like, okay,

06:2270s legends. I'm going to go with Slim's Aaron, you know, that famous like 1970s ski and beach

06:29photographer. And I'm going to go full on 1970s ski outfit. I'm going to wear the stretchy pants with

06:36the suspenders and a crazy yellow t-shirt. And I'm going to wear my like kind of aviator blue glasses

06:42because those are kind of 1970s. The only thing Chris could find was a red sequin tuxedo.

06:48jacket that was leftover. We've got a box in our basement. That's full of leftover costumes.

06:54I got to tell you, we showed up for this tournament. I am not a golfer, but we are

07:00dressed for success. We are dressed for fun. We are dressed and rolling up to the tournament

07:06in our costumes. We had one guy dressed as Ricky Bobby. What was that movie that Ricky Bobby was in?

07:13What is it? I knew the movie. I can't say it. You know the movie because Will Ferrell was in it.

07:18He looked fricking fantastic. His wife was dressed as like the pit crew person. We had another person

07:25who was dressed as Evil Knievel and then Char, our host. Oh my gosh. Imagine this, a golf tournament.

07:30She shows up wearing this like sequined mini dress thing and a visor and a wig and knee-high plastic

07:41white go-go boots. I mean, check out this video if you're watching on YouTube. I'm going to show a

07:46video of her walking and putting wearing this costume. She played in that for nine holes. Every

07:54time I looked at her, I was laughing out loud. Now, here's the interesting part. There were

07:59probably a hundred people who played in this tournament. There were maybe 12 of us who dressed

08:05up. I'm going to go on the record and say, the 12 of us who dressed up and the eight of us in our

08:11group in particular had way more fun in that tournament than the people who didn't. I'm going

08:16to tell you why. Because when you're in a costume and you are bringing the fun, you don't take anything

08:22that seriously. You have fun. And the question is, so why wouldn't everybody dress up? Like why?

08:29How often in your adult life do you get to put on a funny costume? How often do you get to wear

08:34something you would never normally wear? You're not going to walk into work in an Evil Knievel

08:39costume. Maybe you should. Maybe you should mix things up. You're not going to walk into work in a

08:43pair of go-go boots and a short mini dress. And typically, you don't walk on a golf course wearing

08:48those things either. How often do you get to wear something you would never normally wear and then

08:54play golf in it? You know, I have not laughed that hard in a long time. And it turns out that laughing

09:00makes you healthier. There are so many studies on laughter. We got to do a whole like conversation

09:06about laughter, maybe get an expert in here. But let me just hit you with this. The National Cancer

09:11Institute reports that regular laughter, check this out, strengthens your immune system by lowering

09:18stress hormones in your body. It also increases the number of natural killer cells and activated

09:24T-cells that you have. These are two key players that keep your body healthy and resilient.

09:30So there's a lot of research around this. I mean, I think we know that laughter is good medicine.

09:35We feel better when we're laughing. And I'm here to remind you that even when life is hard,

09:42even when it seems like life isn't fun anymore, it is so important for you to understand the

09:49importance of these micro moments and these intentional moments of bringing fun and energy

09:55and joy back into your life. And I want to also define fun for a second because it can be surprisingly

10:03hard to put this concept into words because we all know it when we feel it. Like, you know,

10:08when you feel like you're having fun, right? You feel light, you feel bright, like it's happy and

10:14bubbly. And there's like a balloon filling up your chest. Well, there's also this incredible book,

10:19The Power of Fun by Catherine Price. And she says that fun has three ingredients, playfulness,

10:25connection, and flow. Let's unpack this for just a sec. Now, playfulness means you're not taking

10:30yourself too seriously. My daughter, Kendall, has this saying, Mom, it's not that deep. Okay?

10:35Playfulness means you're in the it's not that deep mode. You're not marching in saying, today,

10:40I'm having fun, damn it. No, that's not what you're doing. You're just not taking yourself too

10:46seriously. And that's exactly how we rolled into that golf tournament. In fact, I want you to think

10:51about something. When's the last time you put on a costume? Halloween doesn't count. And if you

10:56can't remember, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, that is a major sign that you need to be having a little

11:03bit more fun. It's a major sign that playfulness and not taking yourself or life too seriously from

11:09time to time is something that's really important to do. The second piece of fun is connection.

11:15Connection means fun usually involves other people. Even if you're introverted, sharing experiences with

11:22other people just amplifies the fun. And the third thing that she writes about is flow. Meaning you're

11:30immersed in the moment. And then when you're immersed in the moment, time disappears. And what else

11:36disappears? Oh, let me tell you what else disappears. Your worries about the past, your anxiety about the

11:41future, your to-do list, the heaviness, the stress. It just melts away. I mean, for me, it was kind of hard

11:50to be anxious about anything as I'm wearing a 1970s ski outfit on a golf course. And for you, if you

11:56think about the last time that you really had fun, like when's the last time you had a belly laugh with

12:01your friends? When's the last time you sat with somebody that was hilarious, that you just were

12:05laughing around? When's the last time you broke out, I don't know, a puzzle or a board game and you

12:11just had fun? If you can't remember, I'm so glad you're listening because it's time for you to have fun

12:17again. Playfulness, connection, flow. If you can inject these three things into something that you

12:23do today, now you got the recipe for fun. Have I got you hooked yet? I bet I do. Have I got you

12:29thinking about the last time you dressed up in a costume? I bet I do have you thinking about that.

12:33And I bet you're also thinking, okay, Mel, I get it. Fun's important. I get playfulness, connection,

12:40and flow are really important ingredients. But how do I fit this into my life? I mean, I'm already

12:46waking up at 5 a.m. so that I have a chance to take care of myself before the kids get up. And

12:51then I got to get the kids ready for school. Then I got to go to work or school. Then I got to come

12:55home. I got to make dinner. I got to feed the dog. I got to do work after dinner. And then I'm just

12:59crashing. Where is the time for fun? I'm so glad you asked because there are six simple habits or

13:07ways or steps. You can call them whatever you want. We're having fun today. We're not going to get

13:11serious that help you insert fun starting today, starting right now. And that brings me to number

13:18one. You ready for the number one way to have more fun? Wear the pink glasses. In fact, I'm going to

13:23do it right now. I'm going to take off my black 1970s engineering glasses, and I'm going to put on

13:29my fun pink glasses, right? I know you can't see them if you're listening. If you're watching on YouTube

13:35right now, I'm thrilled to be here with you. And you can see me in my pink aviator glasses. These

13:41are neon pink glasses in the aviator shape. I love these glasses. And I know a bazillion people are now

13:49going to ask me who makes these glasses. I'm not sure who makes these glasses, but I'm sure we'll put

13:53it in the caption because so many of you are going to ask, and you're going to crash the inbox, which

13:56wouldn't be that fun, but it could be kind of fun. But anyway, you might be thinking, Mel, what do you

14:01mean wear the pink glasses? Well, this is a habit for how you can think about inserting fun right now

14:09today. I'm talking about one small fun change. I put on the pink glasses. Don't I look like I'm

14:16having more fun? Aren't the pink glasses just kind of fun? Do you see how easy that is? Fun doesn't

14:22have to be some big production. You don't necessarily have to dress up in a costume to have fun. Just

14:28putting on glasses that are different can be fun. Wearing socks that are different can be fun.

14:34Being a little chattier, a little more energizing, telling a funny story before a meeting can be more

14:39fun. Here's another example of one small fun change, like wearing the pink glasses. Why not put on your

14:49favorite song while you're doing the dishes today? Just one small fun change. I mean, it immediately

14:55creates more fun. Like you put on the amazing, and I typically, when I'm doing the dishes, I either

15:01like disco music from the 70s, or I love Motown, or the other thing I love to do is I love to take

15:07the live concert track of one of my favorite songs and just crank it. And next thing you know, dishes

15:14are way more fun. I mean, you have to do dishes anyway. When you put on music like that, and you make

15:19this one small fun change to the thing that you have to do, boom, all of a sudden connection, all

15:25of a sudden playfulness, all of a sudden in flow. How about at lunch today? If you're at work, why not

15:30go for a walk with your coworkers? I'm dead serious about this. Why not work on a crossword puzzle?

15:36Why not break out a deck of cards? Put on funny socks? How about you decorate your desk with bright

15:43colored frames or a funky plant? How about you make the joke that you always kind of choke down?

15:51Oh, should I make this? Should I not make it? I think it's funny. When somebody asks you,

15:54what'd you do this weekend? Think of the funniest thing that happened and tell them instead of saying,

15:59oh, and here's the thing. You're going to feel so stupid when you're doing it. When you put on the

16:05pink glasses, you might feel a little self-conscious. When you ask your colleagues to go for a walk,

16:09it might feel a little funny. When you put on the music, when you're alone at home, you might be

16:13like, okay, this is kind of weird. But when the music hits, you're not going to be thinking about

16:17that at all because it's going to be impossible to not smile. Yes, these are all tiny things.

16:25These are things that you can do every day that can add more joy, a little bit of laughter,

16:30a little bit of lightness. Don't you deserve a little lightness? And here's one reason why a little

16:38bit of lightness, a little silliness, a little playfulness, a little laughter.

16:46Here's one reason why this isn't so little. It's actually quite big. There is powerful research

16:53around fun, around joy, around silliness. Dr. Judith Joseph, she is a world-renowned double board

17:01certified psychiatrist and researcher. She has published the landmark research study about high

17:07functioning depression, along with research studies on anxiety, ADHD, depression, and more.

17:13Her research has found that small daily moments of joy and fun are essential for your life and your

17:23health. That happiness, check this out. Happiness is created by increasing the small moments of joy,

17:32joy, of fun, of laughter, of silliness. And more importantly, I want you to hear this.

17:39Not having small moments of joy, silliness, playfulness, laughter, not having these things in your life

17:47can be a cause of burnout and a feeling of numbness and sadness in your life. I want to say that again

17:56because this is really important. And it's especially important if you have a lot of serious

18:01things going on. And so I want to really unpack this research that Dr. Judith Joseph's research

18:09has found that small daily moments of joy and fun are essential for your life, for your health,

18:17for your resilience. That happiness is created by increasing these small moments of silliness and

18:24laughter. That's why you've got to lean into this. And more importantly, that when you don't have

18:30small moments of joy, happiness, silliness, fun in your life, it can cause burnout. It can cause a

18:39feeling of numbness and it can cause more sadness in your life. So it's both a cause and a contributing

18:48factor to why you're so exhausted. And it's also the antidote. It's also the thing that can lift

18:55you up. Dr. Judith Joseph says that these points of joy, her phrase that she uses in her clinical

19:02research, are a prescription that she gives to her patients in her practice. Now, I bet that research

19:10got your attention and it makes sense, doesn't it? Right? Because if you're not having any fun in your

19:14life, everything does feel heavier and more serious. If you don't have the ability to escape

19:21the stress that you feel by laughing or mixing things up with your friends or, you know, being

19:27silly at times, it makes things more serious. And so I want you to think about getting intentional

19:34about these small, tiny, joyful, fun, silly things that you can do to bring the fun back into your life

19:43as a way to lift you out of the heaviness. That's why this matters. This isn't a little

19:48topic at all. It's as big as it can get. This is a way you fight the feelings that you have that are

19:54weighing you down. And that brings me to step two. We've talked about wear the pink glasses, put on the

20:00fun socks, put on the music, do something fun at lunch today instead of working through your lunch

20:06today. One small fun change today. And that's going to bring us to step number two, which is

20:13just say yes to fun. Do you know how much you miss out on in terms of having fun because you're just

20:19saying no? I want you to stop shutting yourself down. Like, did you skip the comedy show? Oh, it's

20:26too late. I'm tired. I work too late. Do you skip the company outing because it feels like work to

20:31socialize with your coworkers? Do you skip the cake because it's, quote, unhealthy? Fun is not

20:37about saying no. It's about saying yes. You know, when a friend says, do you want to try a new dance

20:44class with me? Yes. Do you want to take a break and go grab a coffee? Yes. Do you want to try this super

20:51cringy speed dating thing together? Yes. Sometimes the most fun experiences are the ones you didn't even

20:59want to do in the first place. I mean, look at me with golf. The moment that Char invited us to be

21:05in the tournament, Mike, Chris is basically like a bananas golfer. I can barely hold a club. I almost

21:12was like, nope, nope. Do you know how much fun I would have missed out on? Instead, I just took the

21:17advice. Say yes to having more fun because having more fun, being silly or being playful, it actually

21:25requires you to be open to it. You got to be open to new things and to not taking the new things or

21:32your performance at the new things so seriously. Like I almost missed out on what was one of the

21:37most fun things I've done in a while because I was worried about how I was going to look. You know,

21:43I thought this was going to be serious and I had to be good at it. No, just say yes. And here's something

21:48that always helps me say yes to the things I might be a little nervous about. If you're somebody who

21:55is really nervous about trying something new, here's what I want to tell yourself. Do it for

21:59the plot. And here's what I mean by that. Let's say you were the main character in a book or a movie.

22:05Your main character would totally say yes to that weird speed dating thing. They would totally say yes

22:12to trying the new dance class. So do it for the plot means just do it for the story. So even if

22:18speed dating is not fun and you meet a bunch of weirdos, let's just think for a minute about how

22:23hilarious the story is going to be that you can tell your friends later. So the speed dating isn't

22:28necessarily fun, but the story and the laughing about it sure is. Here's another example. Let's

22:34say you go out with your coworkers and let's just say maybe you hit it a little too hard and maybe you

22:40feel a little hungover the next morning at work. Doesn't it make work a thousand times more interesting

22:45the next day? Of course it does. And speaking of doing things that you might not be comfortable

22:51with, that brings me to the third way to have more fun in your life starting today.

22:59Be bad at it because being bad at it is really fun. I mean, it's fun to be bad at something.

23:06You want to know what's actually boring? It's people who are good at everything. I mean,

23:10do you think the person who shows up to tennis or pickleball and just destroys everyone and takes

23:17it so seriously is having a lot of fun? No, because they're trying to win and they're taking

23:25it seriously. Or what about the person who steps up to the mic and they literally have to nail every

23:31single note like they're Whitney Houston? Do you think they're having the most fun? No,

23:36because they're performing for perfection. Having fun is about trying something fully,

23:43throwing yourself into it and not caring if you're good or bad at it. I mean, think about me in golf.

23:48I literally was horrible at it. Horrible. We didn't count one shot that I took all nine holes. I don't

23:54care. It's fun to be bad because there's no pressure. And here's the thing. When you're willing

23:59to be bad at something, you not only open the door to fun, you also give other people around you

24:06permission to try to be bad and to have fun and to laugh at themselves too. I think social media has

24:11made you and me so terrified of failing, of looking stupid, of being caught not looking perfect or

24:17ending up on some embarrassing TikTok page. But here's the thing. That fear of being bad is what's

24:24holding you back. The fear of looking stupid is why you're not having fun. I mean, it's okay to make a

24:30joke and nobody really laughs. I mean, that's how you learn to tell better ones. Okay. Let's not

24:35take things too seriously. It's okay to be terrible at tennis. I mean, you just started. And when you're

24:41terrible at it, you have an excuse for being bad at it because you just started. Now you laugh at

24:45yourself. It's okay to be an awful dancer. You're not auditioning for dancing with the stars. You know,

24:53in fact, I'm one of these people that I personally believe when I'm on a dance floor,

24:59that I am a great dancer. Like, are you a person like this? You get out on the dance floor and you

25:03envision yourself having all the moves and the grooves. And I recently saw a video that Chris

25:09shot of me dancing. And I got to tell you, I'm a really bad, awkward dancer. I was very surprised

25:19to see that when I'm dancing, I think it looks a certain way. But when I'm watching a video of me

25:25dancing, it doesn't look like that at all. And so it's not only fun to dance, it was also hilarious

25:31to see that I'm actually pretty awkward dancer, but I don't care because being bad at something

25:37is also fun. And that brings me to a fourth way to have way more fun in your life starting today.

25:44I want you to be the driver of the fun bus. Now, what does that mean?

25:48It means this. Instead of sitting around feeling exhausted and tired, crossing your arms and just

25:58waiting around for the fun bus to pull up and drag you on it and drive off with you. Come on, admit it.

26:07You're waiting for the invite. You're waiting for somebody else to throw the golf costume party.

26:11You're waiting for somebody else to crack the joke. No, no, no, no, no, no. One of the fastest ways

26:18to have more fun in your life is to take responsibility for having more fun in your life.

26:24You be the driver of the fun bus. You sit in this driver's seat. You drive the fun for yourself and

26:32for everyone else around you. Let me give you some examples of what this looks like. Have you ever been

26:38at a concert and it's kind of mellow and everybody's sitting there? And then all of a sudden one person

26:45stands up and starts dancing. And for a minute, it looks a little weird. And then all of a sudden a

26:51second. And then all of a sudden a third. And next thing, you know, like everybody's standing up.

26:57All it takes is one person to drive the fun bus. And why is it that everybody joins in? There's a lot

27:04of research and science about this. There's actually a famous video of a guy kind of twirling

27:08at a concert and you watch it for like 30 seconds and then people start to join in and then it becomes

27:13a whole mob scene of people dancing. It's because when we see somebody else having fun, we are wired

27:19to want to have fun too. When you see somebody else laughing, you want to be laughing too. We're drawn

27:27toward it because we need it in our lives. I mean, when you think about the waves, you know,

27:33that go around a sports arena, there was a person who started the wave. And even though you see the

27:40wave coming and you feel kind of like, oh, and then you do the wave, it's fun when it goes. And

27:44you're like, oh, right. Why shouldn't it be you who starts a wave? Why sit around waiting for

27:51somebody else to do it? One of the best ways to bring the fun in any situation is just go first

27:59and be bad at it. So I want you to think about being at a wedding. We've all been at a wedding,

28:04right? And the bride and groom after the ceremony, they come in, they announce them to the tent,

28:10they do their dance. And then all of a sudden the DJ starts playing or the band starts playing.

28:17And what do people do? People sit in their chairs and stare at the empty dance floor.

28:22What if you were the first person on the dance floor? That's how you drive the fun bus. I mean,

28:31typically at a wedding, it's usually an older couple and they get out there and they do that

28:34swing dance thing where they spin each other around. And then next thing you know, a bunch

28:39of other people are coming. All it takes is one person to break the seal. That's it. What if today

28:46at work as everybody's chatting about their weekend? What if you're the first person to have

28:52the silly thing to share in the meeting? Like instead of being like, yeah, we hung out with

28:57the kids. Like think of something funny. That's how you bring the fun. Be the first person to start

29:03the sing-along on the bus or at the ball game. That's how you bring the fun. And look, if you're

29:10not naturally that like, okay, I'm not really the go first kind of person, Mel. I can't even imagine

29:16stepping onto a dance floor, you know, and being the first person or grabbing my girlfriends and

29:22going out and being the first people. Here's something that can help with it. I want you to

29:26assign yourself a role. Step outside your brain and tell yourself, okay, today, because I know it

29:35matters and because I really want to have more fun in my life and more play in my life and I want to

29:40feel more energized and I want to feel better. Today, I'm playing the role of driver of fun bus.

29:47Today, it's my job to bring the fun. Pretend that being silly and outgoing and unserious is your

29:53assignment for the day. And you'll be surprised at how quickly pretending becomes real. Like I want

29:59you to stop and think, you have friends in your life who are the fun friends, right? You know that

30:07your fun friends are going to bring the fun. Because why? Well, I'll tell you why. That's their role in

30:13life. And you expect it. And you know what they do to bring the fun. They put in extra effort in terms

30:20of the way that they make the appetizer. They have a playlist ready. They have a funny story that they're

30:26going to tell you. They wear something fun to the party. This is something that you can teach

30:33yourself to do. But you got to be intentional about it. You got to be the driver of the fun bus.

30:38And you'll be shocked at how quickly, just taking on that role, I want to be the fun friend. Why don't

30:44you be the fun friend? Why don't you be the fun one in the family? Why don't you, when you get

30:48together with your family the next time, bring games? I do this all the time. We bring these family

30:54games, yard games that we can play. We play games after dinner. Salad bowl is a big one where you

30:59put in names of famous people. And then it's like a charade. Bring the fun. You can do this. Instead

31:05of sitting around waiting for the fun friend or the fun family member. And somebody just popped to

31:10mind, didn't they? In fact, the person that popped to mind, your fun friend, for me, it's Char.

31:14The fun family member. I want you to share this episode with them right now. And just tell them,

31:19you know what I appreciate about you? You always bring the fun. Thank you for inspiring me

31:23to start having more fun in my life too. Because as we've already covered these four

31:28simple ways to start having more fun today, I know you're nodding along, right? Oh, I could start a

31:33wave at the next sports game. Oh, I could jump onto the dance floor. Oh, I could do these things. I

31:38could dress up. But it begs the question, why do you feel so cringy when you do these things? What is

31:47going on? Why does it feel hard to walk into your job wearing a hilarious tie or bright red lipstick?

31:56Well, the answer is simple. Because everybody's afraid of being cringy or being judged. Like that's

32:04why. You're not having fun because you're afraid of other people. And that's sad. And that brings me

32:12to the next step. This is a requirement. And that step is you got to let them. You got to stop caring

32:19about what other people think. And you got to start caring about having a lot of fun in your life and

32:24being sillier and lightening up. Your fear that people are going to judge you is keeping you from

32:32having fun and being playful and creative and energized and silly. And I'm here to tell you,

32:38let them. Let people think whatever they're going to think. Because if they're thinking something

32:43negative about the fact that you're the first person on the dance floor, they're probably miserable in

32:49their life. So let them be miserable. Let them judge you. You don't care. You're out on the dance

32:54floor having fun. Why do you want to hang out with people like that anyway? Why do you care what

32:59miserable negative people think about you? Miserable people judge you for having fun. So let them.

33:05Let grumpy people be annoyed that you're a little loud and laughing too hard at the restaurant.

33:11Let somebody who's a little uptight or traditional, shall we say, be annoyed by your bright neon pink

33:19glasses or your crazy costume on the golf course or the fact that you're wearing something that's not

33:25normally something that you wear, that whatever. Let them, let them, let them. The reason why they're

33:31judgy is their uptight. Uptight people have uptight opinions. Because today, you and I are going to

33:37focus on the let me part. Let me have more fun in my life. Let me do it because it's critical to my

33:45health and happiness. Why don't we have more fun? The reason we don't have more fun is because we're

33:51afraid of what people will think. We're afraid people are going to think, oh God, she's so cringe.

33:55She's so, she's too much. She's so embarrassing. What a weirdo. I mean, that joke wasn't even

34:00funny. Oh my gosh. If you want to have fun, you must learn to let them be miserable as you're having

34:10fun. Let them think you're stupid. Let them think the costume's done. Let them think you're an idiot.

34:16Who cares? I mean, would you rather be the boring person obsessed with making sure nobody thinks

34:22you're weird or the fun person that everybody, by the way, wants to be around? Because we are drawn

34:29toward people like this because they bring the light. They bring the silliness. They give everybody

34:35permission to lighten up and to have fun with you. When you see somebody who's unapologetically,

34:43confidently themselves, somebody just dancing like I dance, thinking they're amazing and they're

34:50actually really awkward, don't they kind of make you smile? When you see somebody across the cafe

34:56and they're just wearing something plain and then they cross their legs and right there with the

35:01lace-up Oxford dress shoes, there are these crazy socks that they're wearing. You're like,

35:07bing, that person knows how to have fun. That person's got some personality over there. That's a

35:12person that's got a little going on beneath the surface. I mean, who do you respect more?

35:17The person who's like dancing wildly with their crazy moves, having a blast and laughing at

35:23themselves? Or the person standing on the sidelines or sitting in their chair scrolling

35:30as they're watching everybody else? Who do you want to be? You want to be the person dancing on the

35:38floor having fun? Or do you want to go through life with your arms crossed, sitting on the sidelines,

35:44watching everybody else? Well, because you're listening, I know you want to be the one who's

35:51on the dance floor. You want to be the one who's driving the bus and taking responsibility for having

35:58fun. You want to be the one starting the wave. You want to be the one rolling up to the golf course

36:03in the costume. You want to be the one getting everybody in the office to sit at lunch and play

36:07the game or work on a puzzle. You want to be the one that's like getting a walking group together

36:12with your friends or your colleagues or your neighbor. You know, I'll give you another example.

36:17We have somebody in our office who's constantly challenging people in the office to do things

36:23like handstands, headstands, talking about like the jujitsu moves. There's constantly somebody doing

36:31something in the office and it makes it so much more fun. Here's another idea. Next time you invite

36:38your friends over for dinner, make a theme, have everybody dress up. See, we're all just sitting

36:43around waiting for somebody else to create opportunities to have fun. And I'm here to tell

36:47you, you are responsible for this in your own life. And you are going to have so much more fun

36:53when you just lean into it. There's a silly side of you. There's a side of you that knows how to laugh

36:59more, knows how to be more creative. And I am inviting you and begging you for everybody's sake

37:04that you really embrace this side of yourself. Not only is it going to make yourself feel better,

37:10it is going to shift everything for everyone around you. It's going to make everything better.

37:16And that brings me to the final thing that I want to say about having more fun today.

37:23For crying out loud, stop saying you're too old. You're too old. You're too tired. You're too this.

37:30You're too that. You're too whatever. But mostly stop saying you're too old to have fun.

37:36You know why you and I remember having so much fun as kids? Because kids do things that are

37:41genuinely fun. Things that adults somehow decide that we're not allowed to do anymore. First of all,

37:46kids play. They jump into foam pits at birthday parties. They swing. They slide. They sing at the

37:51top of their lungs. They wear costumes. They decorate their rooms in colors that don't match.

37:56But then what happens? Oh, we become an adult. We want everything to look perfect for Instagram.

38:02Your house turns beige. Your clothes get grayer. You decide costume parties or,

38:10I'm just not that kind of person. I'm going to... You think going out is unhealthy. You're too

38:15exhausted to even try. I want to share a story with you. One of our producers, shout out to Yuna,

38:21recently turned 30. And you want to know what she wanted to do for her birthday? She wanted to do

38:28a backflip. Isn't that fun? So she rented out a gymnastics gym and hired two coaches. And she and

38:34her 30-year-old friend spent the night attempting a backflip. And guess what? They had a blast.

38:40And they discovered one guy was secretly a gymnastics prodigy. Another one managed to vault over the bars.

38:47And most people face-planted spectacularly. And you want to know what? Nobody cared. I mean,

38:54just think about it. Have you ever jumped on a trampoline and not had fun? I mean, try it. It's

38:58impossible. And here's the best part. As Yuna walked out with her 30-year-old friends, a line of

39:05five-year-olds walked in dressed as mermaids and princesses. And check this out. The gym had never

39:12hosted an adult birthday party before. In fact, when they went to sign the waivers, you know the

39:18line where you sign and it typically says name? These waivers said child's name on them. I mean,

39:24isn't that hilarious? Of course it's hilarious. It reminds me of one other thing. When we were home

39:29visiting my parents in Michigan, my mom was walking around the house and I was talking about the fact

39:34that she has the living room painted this beautiful pink color. And she turned and said,

39:38well, I just love fun colors. Everybody's house is beige. It's so boring. I love having color around

39:43because it's fun. And so you can also take a note from my mom and paint a wall a cool color just

39:50because it's fun. The bottom line is you're not too old. You're not too tired. You're not too exhausted.

39:58Things aren't too serious for you to have more fun, to have a quirky hobby, to get a crazy haircut,

40:05to learn a new sport, even if you look ridiculous at first, to dress up for Halloween or any holiday

40:10or any dinner party, or heck, throw a dinner party or a barbecue that has a theme. Host a theme party.

40:16Why? Well, just because it's fun. Sing karaoke. Badly. I love every second of it. Why? Because it's fun.

40:25Take a dance class. Try hip hop. Trip over your own feet. Why? Because it's fun to be bad at something.

40:31Wear glitter. Sequins. Or do something cool with your nails. That's a fun way to have fun.

40:37Break out from the real neutral color and actually get some killer design. You're never going to be

40:45younger than you are right now. And you want to know the best day to start having more fun? It's today.

40:54Okay. So the six things I want you to keep in mind so that you have so much more fun. I want you to

41:01wear the pink glasses. Just one small fun change. That helps you have fun today. Say yes to fun. Stop

41:08saying no. Say yes. And remember, you're going to have a great story to tell even if you didn't have

41:13fun doing it. Be bad at it because being bad at something is really fun. Don't wait for fun to come.

41:21I want you to step into the driver's seat of the fun bus and bring it. For crying out loud,

41:26stop caring about other people being cringy and just let them be uptight and judgy. We don't care

41:33about them. You care about you having more fun. And finally, stop saying you're too old. You're too

41:42this. You're too that. And start saying yes to more silliness, to more laughter, to more fun,

41:49to more lightness. Because I promise you, when you do, you will have more energy. You will feel more

41:56joy. You will feel better prepared and capable to face the things that you need to face. And you're

42:03going to finally start feeling like yourself again. You're going to feel alive again. And that's what I

42:11want most for you. I want you to stop feeling like you're on autopilot. I want you to stop

42:16experiencing life like it's on a grayscale. Because what's the point of being here if we're

42:23not having fun along the way? That's what I want you to do. I want you to have a bright, loud,

42:30lively, silly, playful, joyful, beautiful life. And in case no one else tells you today,

42:37as your friend, I wanted to be sure to tell you that I love you. And I believe in you. And I

42:42believe in your ability to create a better life. And based on the research and common sense,

42:48a better life is a life that is full of fun. So I hope you go out and have some.

42:56Alrighty. I'll see you in the very next episode. I'll be waiting to welcome you in the moment you

43:01hit play. I'll see you there. Alrighty. I want to thank you for being here with me on YouTube. Thank

43:07you for watching all the way to the end. Thank you for taking a moment to hit subscribe. It's my

43:12goal that 50% of people who watch this channel are subscribers. It's free. It's the best way for

43:17you to say, hey, Mel, I really appreciate what you and the team are doing. I love these videos.

43:22Keep them coming. So thanks for doing that. And speaking of videos, I know you want to know what's

43:26the next one. I think you're going to love this one. And you're also going to have a lot of fun

43:30watching it. I'll see you there.

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