WEBVTT - ANNIE F. DOWNS 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:05.200 Hello, my friend. We are back with another episode of 0:00:05.440 --> 0:00:09.200 Love Someone, and this one is gonna be fun. We've 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:14.120 got Nashville, Tennessee's best selling author. She's a popular speaker. 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:19.000 She does her own podcast. Her name is Annie f. Downs. 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:21.319 She's with us today, and she has written the book 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:26.200 on fun. Literally, I'm not kidding. Her book That Sounds Fun, 0:00:26.280 --> 0:00:29.280 The Joys of being an Amateur, The Power of Falling 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:32.600 in Love, and Why You Need a Hobby. It was 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:36.080 released in February. She is the host of a very 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:40.080 popular podcast, also called That Sounds Fun, as well as 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:44.280 the founder of the That Sounds Fun Network. At this point, 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:48.240 I'd say it's safe to say she is an expert 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:54.080 on the topic of fun. Annie has been described as engaging, honest, 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:59.120 a straight shooter who doesn't shy away from really tough topics. 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:01.880 Like me, she seems to revel in time shared with 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:05.880 friends and family and belly laughs. After the crazy train 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:10.480 that we've been on in and into one, I think 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:14.319 we need fun. We need to rethink fun. We need 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:17.640 more fun, not as something we might get to after 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:20.120 all our of our other priorities are taken care of, 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:23.760 but something that we must prioritize right up there with 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:29.440 our physical and spiritual needs. We need fun, We need laughter. 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.160 You know the expression laughter is the best medicine. It is, 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:37.880 it truly is. We need lots of laughter and joy 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:42.720 and fun. Annie speaks to how we need it to survive. 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:48.080 That fun is actually life saving medicine, and she's going 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:50.560 to share some great tips on how to put the 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:54.960 fun and the joy back in our lives. We're going 0:01:55.000 --> 0:02:01.080 to jump into the necessity of sanity saving Shenanigans. Oh boy, 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:04.480 do I like Shenanigan's Right after I give my podcast 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:09.320 sponsor the shout out that they deserve. Mercy Ships is 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:14.240 our newest sponsor to this podcast. Every conversation we have 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:20.160 here is about helping, about loving, about building community. There's 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:25.520 a large group a community that support Mercy Ships. This 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:29.239 is an organization that sends ships that have been converted 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.000 into fabulous hospitals to some of the poorest communities in 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:36.959 the world and gives free surgeries to people who need 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:39.720 it most. I support their work because I know the 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:44.160 real difference, the life and death difference they make by 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:47.440 their good work. I encourage you to go to Mercy 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:52.240 Ships dot org slash love to learn more. Mercy ships 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:55.919 dot org slash love. It will do your heart good, 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:59.560 it will change your heart, it will speak to your 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:03.880 heart and such a powerful way. That's mercy ships dot 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:10.320 org slash love. Welcome Annie Downs to love someone. I 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:12.800 am so glad that we are talking about this topic 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:19.160 because for years, for years, some people I won't mention names, 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.880 but some people in my immediate family, some people that 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.919 I was married to once upon a time. Some people 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:29.280 think that I am a little Craig Craig because I 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:34.000 love to have fun and I will go to great 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:40.200 lengths to have fun and to do ridiculous, absolutely stupid, 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:44.000 practical jokes to people. And I love that you celebrate 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:49.360 corny fun. So which came first? Your book, your podcast, 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:53.680 or your passion for belly laughs? Well, you know, for me, 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:56.520 Delilah Prazards, thanks for having me on today. But for me, 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:59.480 the I think what came first is just my natural 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:02.360 love of fun. Like I kind of was just born 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.240 this way and built this way. And so what I 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.160 had to face first was when all my friends and 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:11.400 I are growing up and becoming adults, why are they 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:13.920 stopping talking about fun? But I still want to talk 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:16.360 about it. So I really had to go through this 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.200 season of like, what does it look like to continue 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:21.280 to talk about fund? Does that mean I'm not grown up? 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:23.359 Does that mean I'm Peter Pan? No. I have a 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:26.640 job and I do my responsibilities, and and then I 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:29.240 rise like maybe I'm just made this way. Maybe there's 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:32.120 something too. There needs to be a few of us 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:35.600 still on the planet that talked about the power of 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.680 fun and what it actually means and what it's actually for. 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:41.880 And so that's when the podcast came along, and then 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:44.359 five six years later is when the book came along. 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:48.240 All right, quick question here. Have you ever been asked 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:51.680 to leave a movie theater because you laugh too loud? No? 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:59.160 Have you more than once? At? Yeah? Really? Yep? Oh 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:02.000 my gosh, so you went on that one, doyla. Yeah. 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:06.680 I love to go to corny movies, really goofy, funny movies, 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:09.520 and my laugh can be heard like a mile away, 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:13.120 which the people sitting next to me don't usually appreciate. 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:20.080 I'm glad you were built this way. Did you ever 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:23.040 feel any like you were a square peg in a 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:26.159 round hole, like like you just didn't fit in because 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:29.480 you love to have fun? I think so, I mean, 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:31.480 I think all of us can look back to sixth 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:33.760 grade right and figure out, Man, I did not feel 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:35.720 like I fit in. I mean, I think all of 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:38.560 us have those stories from our childhood and from our 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:41.280 adult life where we think I just did not fit 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:43.600 in the way I wanted to, and I didn't fit 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.520 in as much as I thought I wanted to to 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:49.440 feel accepted and to feel loved and and so I 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:51.800 think that's true. But the older I've gotten and the 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.359 more I've gotten used to being in my body and 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:57.719 in my life, and it really come around appreciating that 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:01.480 we're each mate so uniquely. The more it doesn't matter 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:04.840 what side the whole is, I'm the right tag for it, right. 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.120 So that's kind of what I've got and what I 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:10.159 try to encourage people in the that sounds fun? The 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:13.800 book has been like, Man, what do you love and 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:16.479 and what matters to you? And what sounds fun to you? 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:20.440 Because there's so much power in appreciating the unique way 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:25.680 you were made a men sister, So, Annie, when it 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:28.880 comes too fun, are you the practical joker kind of 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:32.600 fun or are you just somebody who likes to experiment 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:36.479 trying new things? I'm probably not the practical joker I 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:40.080 probably way more lean on Let's get a group together 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:42.440 and go do something fun. Let's take the next thirty 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:45.640 minutes and do something fine. Let's take a break from 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:48.800 work and do something fun and so practical joking kind of, 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:51.279 I'm just maybe not smart enough to pull all those 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:55.359 together in time. But I really love doing fun things 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:59.400 that invite other people into it, that help people feel 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.760 connect did and help people feel like man, that was 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:06.440 a that was a better moment than I expected. Why 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.320 does fun matter to you? Like, you know, I wrote 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:13.000 a book about love because because that matters. Why does 0:07:13.480 --> 0:07:17.640 this concept of of levity or laughter or fun matter 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:20.840 so much that you would write a book about it? Yeah? 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:24.520 I mean for me, I think fun really encompasses a 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:27.440 lot of things we're looking for, and there aren't a 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:29.960 lot of people talking about it. I like bringing up 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:33.200 conversations that people want to be having but may not 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:36.800 have the words for quite at the moment. Because when 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:38.920 I think about fun, I think about, man, who are 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:40.640 the people I want to be around, and who do 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:43.760 I love? And and how does that play into what 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.800 is fun for me? And and where are the places 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:48.800 that I want to learn something new? And what are 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:50.960 the hobbies I want to pick up. So to me, 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.040 the idea of fun is is really all encompassing in 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:57.240 our lives, and and so I wanted to write about 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.280 that because it matters so deeply to me. I feel 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:02.800 like it's really been an active part of shaping the 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:04.800 lights that I have and shaping some of the best 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:07.880 parts of my life. And and as I was having 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:10.960 conversations about fun on the podcast on that Sounds Fun 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:13.400 to Podcast, I realized, like, man, there is more to 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:16.960 this conversation that I'm able to have just with these guests. 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:19.320 I want to write about this and research this and 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.680 dig into this, and and so it just kind of 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.240 became the main thing I wanted to think about and 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.800 talk about and write about. And there is such a 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:33.480 huge void, it seems, especially especially this past year year 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:36.560 and a half, this huge void of levity. Everything is 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:41.880 so serious. Do you find that that people have been 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:45.079 watching the news or being in COVID shutdown of kind 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:49.360 of lost that fun bear. Yeah. For me, what I 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:51.600 saw over the last year was a lot of us 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:54.640 that we had these big dreams of fun that was 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:58.319 going to I hadn't on my calendar two trips overseas 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:02.200 or trips to Disney World or Disneyland, or or of 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:05.800 these big concerts or sporting events you wanted to go to. 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:09.160 And and when all of that gets canceled, we either 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:13.000 kind of had the choice to to not have fun 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:16.360 and to just kind of sit in the loss that 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:21.079 we experienced, or we could try to find some simpler 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:27.160 fund some easier, more local, more at home grown fun. Now, 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:29.480 I'm a big believer in feeling or feeling, so I'm 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:33.320 not saying that that we needed to not be disappointed 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:35.960 or sad. But at the same time, I mean, how 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:39.319 many people got back into puzzles and got into bread making, 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:44.640 and got into having conversations with friends over zoom people 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:46.480 you hadn't talked to in a long time. And So 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:49.000 what I saw over the last year and what I 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:51.640 was glad is I was finishing writing that sounds fun, 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:54.280 is when the pandemic began. So I got to kind 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:57.520 of lay the filter of a worldwide pandemic on top 0:09:57.559 --> 0:09:59.920 of a book of fun and see if it all 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.560 stayed true. And what I ended up realizing is, man, 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:06.480 this is still a big meat in our lives and 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:09.040 in our hearts, and there is a way to do 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:11.760 that even when the world is not as you're used 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:15.679 to it being. I got a confession to make, Annie, 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:19.160 I'm ready. I had a hell of a lot of 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:24.520 fun during the COVID shutdown. What did you do? I 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:28.920 spent the entire year with my family. I didn't leave 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:32.680 the house for weeks. I have never lived with my 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:38.120 husband his career and my career since the day we met. 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:41.640 We've lived in different states. We got married, we still 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:44.440 live in different states, and we just you know, visit, 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:48.079 we travel back and forth. But during the COVID shutdown, 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.400 we lived together. Our whole family lived together on a 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:56.360 five acre cattle ranch, and I can tell you it 0:10:56.520 --> 0:11:00.000 was one of the most fun experiences of my life 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:04.079 to spend that kind of intimate time with my kids 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:12.679 and my husband doing amazing things, simple things, but amazing things. So, 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:17.080 what are some of the most silly or wonderfully spontaneous 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:21.520 things that you have ever done? Just like you said, 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:24.400 to pull people into the moment, to get them to 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:29.439 lighten up, what are some of the really amazing moments 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:33.360 that you have had that you would encourage other people 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:35.760 not to do the same thing, obviously, but to just 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:40.439 take a chance on fun. Well, you know what this 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:43.960 is a great part about talking about fun is a 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:47.440 lot of times the big and bold and wild fun 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:52.360 things are actually not attainable to everybody and aren't necessarily 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:55.400 what your fondest memories are. So what really comes to 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:57.839 mind is like Friday at work. It got to me 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:00.360 about four o'clock and we were all still stay around 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:03.000 answering emails, and one of my co workers said, let's 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.320 order guacamoley, and so we are guacamole just randomly on 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:09.440 a Friday afternoon. That's not a big thing, but then 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:11.480 it was really fun just to take him in and 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:14.920 sit around and laugh and eat guacamole together. I also 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:17.760 think about during the pandemic, some other girlfriends and I, 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:20.640 you know, we we all live alone separately because we 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:23.800 aren't married yet, and so we all live alone across town, 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:26.240 and we decided to all watch the same movie at 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:29.599 the same time over face time, and so it was 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:32.839 a real small moment, but it was really meaningful to me. 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:34.760 I'm trying to think of what I mean. One time, 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:37.160 some friends and I, you can take a flight from 0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:41.680 Nashville where I live, down to Panama City to that airport, 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:45.400 and we got on that morning flight on Southwest, and 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:47.480 all we packed, we had our slim suits on in 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:49.800 our clothes on top, and we just took our beach 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:52.840 bags down and we flew down for seventy nine dollars 0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:54.800 and went and laid on the beach for the day 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:56.880 and flew back on the evening flight that night for 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:59.679 seventy nine dollars. So that was pretty fun. But man, 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:02.959 I'm all for doing fun that is manageable as far 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:06.920 as financially and time wise, so that instead of putting 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:09.360 tons of pressure on a vacation in one week in 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.000 the summer and said, you've been having fun all the 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:16.600 way along A men to that. My mom was the 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:21.080 queen of having fun on a shoestring budget. My dad 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:24.559 always always worked, had a good job. We weren't poor, 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:29.680 but we certainly weren't rich. You know, we lived very simply. 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:34.079 They were very thrifty. But my mom could pull together 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:36.920 a party on like five bucks, I kid you not, 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:40.000 and on a whim. You know, on a Friday night, 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:42.800 she'd say, let's go crabbing, and she'd get on the 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:45.280 phone and call half the neighborhood and we'd all meet 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:47.560 down at the crab dock. And my dad would bring 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:50.800 his guitar and we would crab off the end of 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:52.800 the dock and catch crab and cook them on the 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:57.920 beach and have a party. Not a stupid, get drunk 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.680 kind of stupid party, but just with four or five 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.160 of the neighbors, ten of the neighbors, all the kids 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:06.000 playing in the sand. My dad played the guitar until 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:08.720 midnight or one or two o'clock in the morning. It 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:12.360 cost us nothing. Yeah, And that, to me, that was 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.760 a lot of what has gone sideways with fun is 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:22.280 people expect themselves to come up with really grandiose, expensive, big, 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:25.320 multi day fun. And I'm just such a fan of 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.760 the simplicity of making it part of your every week, 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:31.600 of your every day, of going back because when you 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:33.600 were nine years old, you didn't have to think about fun. 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:35.920 You just had it all the time. And now, of 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:38.160 course we have more responsibilities, more things we have to 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:41.240 worry about and think about, but we can still make 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:44.240 that a part of our lives. I think I do 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:46.480 that sometimes a little bit too much, so that my 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:49.840 kids expect that everything is going to be fun, you know. 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:52.560 I try to make games out of learning. I try 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:56.520 to make food fun and make you know, pancakes that 0:14:56.560 --> 0:15:00.240 are the shape of butterflies, or I spell my kids 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:03.880 names out with pancakes. Well, it gets to the point where, Mom, 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.360 this this just a round pancake. What's up? You're not 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:11.880 fun today? That's exactly right. When normal life is surprising 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:15.280 to your family because they're used to you kind of 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.240 kicking it up and not that's a pretty good life, 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.600 It's true. And my my friends and family know that 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:23.200 if I'm there, I'm going to kick it. If I'm 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.360 not kicking it up a notch, if I'm not trying 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:28.760 to have fun, there's something drastically wrong with me. I'm 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:33.400 either in physical pain or emotional pain. No, just surely that. 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.240 I think a lot of times we all, I mean, 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:38.280 we're all going to have off days, of course, and 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:41.560 there are some personalities that are less inclined to showing 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.080 up and being the party like you and I both are. 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:48.120 But the beautiful thing is is we we all gathered together. 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:52.240 Everybody wants to feel connected, everybody wants to laugh, Everybody 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:55.240 wants to have those kind of memories and those kind 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:58.120 of moments. Some of us it's a little bit easier 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:00.640 to think them up than others. But part of my 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.160 hope with the book is that we've set out some 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:06.280 ideas and some concepts for people that will help jump 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:09.120 start them into what they're thinking about. So, how can 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:11.880 we give me some baby steps to take? I think 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:18.360 we've become very cynical and very divided as a nation 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.880 as a society. Give us some annie, some baby steps. 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:24.160 Maybe you spell them out and that sounds fun, But 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:29.080 give us a starting point, a launching point for incorporating 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:33.320 this idea of playfulness or fun back into our day, 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.720 back into our routine. Yeah. I think it starts with 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:39.960 a really simple question that you ask yourself, and you 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:42.800 ask the people that you sit around and eat dinner with. 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:45.840 And the question is what sounds fun to you? I mean, 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:48.920 that's a really simple question. But what happens when you 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:51.840 sit down and kind of ask around the table tonight 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:54.440 at dinner. Okay, we're gonna answer everyone, want everybody answer 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:57.360 this question? What sounds fun to you? What happens is 0:16:57.400 --> 0:17:01.600 it does get your brain spinning. I'm like, well, hey, 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:03.440 I don't know, I haven't thought about fun in a 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:06.840 really long time. Okay, well think about it now, start 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:08.800 thinking up. What does sound fun to you? Is it 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.480 a particular band you want to see live in concert 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:14.840 when we're able to do that again hopefully really soon. 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.800 Or or is it a game you want to play? 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:19.879 Is it an instrument you want to learn? Is it 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.600 a recipe you want to cook? Is it a sport 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:25.000 you want to try it for yourself? Like, there are 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:28.560 so many answers to what sounds funky? Maybe it's just resting. 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:31.720 Maybe what sounds fun for you is reading a book 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:34.880 quietly for an hour. That's a great answer, And so 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.879 I think asking yourself that question, it really is the 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:41.680 first step in listening to your friends and family. Who 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:44.439 you eat dinner with, or maybe you eat lunch with 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:46.840 after church on Sunday, or maybe you're in small group 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:49.000 with or you your co workers do you eat lunch 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:51.439 with every day? But when you ask that question, it 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:54.680 really stirs up something in you. It stirs up something 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:57.080 and the people that are eating with you. And in fact, 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:59.119 if you start, if you follow up that question with, 0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:02.520 well tell me why, that is almost always Delilah, You'll 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:05.880 think this is so interesting. Almost always, as you get 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:09.159 down deeper into the why behind what sounds fun to people, 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:12.439 almost always points back to while when I was a 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.840 kid dot dot dot because there's a simplicity that we 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.760 miss and our adult lives and we want to taste 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:21.119 that again. And one of the ways we get to 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:24.040 have those moments is by finding fun in the life 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:27.560 we have. This podcast is brought to you by my 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:30.560 friends at the Home Depot. Listen up. If you are 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:33.600 a do it yourself for the Home Depot has given 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:37.359 you a not so super secret tool to taking on 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:41.120 your next project. It's the home Depot app and it's 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:45.479 on your phone, downloaded for free, and then use it 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:48.359 when you're starting your next project. You can take a 0:18:48.400 --> 0:18:50.760 picture of what you're working on and what you need 0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:55.360 to replace or repair, and the home Depot's app technology 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:58.600 gives you all their options. Is it in the store 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:01.399 closest to you or would you prefer it shipped to 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:07.040 you the home Depot how doers get more done? So 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:11.600 it seems to me a lot of people are worried 0:19:11.600 --> 0:19:16.720 about looking foolish. They don't want to be not good 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:19.600 at something. Like you said, when we were kids, I 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:21.600 didn't care if I was the best soccer player. Well 0:19:21.640 --> 0:19:25.200 we didn't play soccer, but you know, the best volleyball player, 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:26.800 the best swimmer, I just wanted to go to the 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:30.760 pool and swim. I didn't care if I was wearing 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:34.400 the best hiking boots and could hike ten miles without stopping. 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:36.240 I just wanted to go climb on the hills behind 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:40.119 our house. But then something happens where we judge ourselves 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:43.160 or we have expectations of ourselves. How do you get 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:46.520 past that and just go have fun again? Yeah? I 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:49.040 mean part of that. In the book, the first section 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:51.520 is actually titled the Joys of being an Amateur and 0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:55.520 how much it matters that we allow ourselves to begin 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:59.160 at new things, to start something we've never done before, 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:03.520 to give ourselves permission to be new at today where 0:20:03.520 --> 0:20:06.239 we are in our lives today. The only thing I 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:10.160 want to be a professional act is my job. Everything 0:20:10.200 --> 0:20:13.160 else I want to stay an amateur I and being 0:20:13.160 --> 0:20:15.560 an amateur kind of gets a bad rap, But the 0:20:15.600 --> 0:20:18.720 reality is being an amateur just means you're trying something new, 0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:21.560 and you're doing things that you're not trying to be 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:24.920 a professional act. Well, I'm never gonna be a professional athlete, 0:20:24.920 --> 0:20:27.280 but I don't want to play sports, and I'm never 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:32.000 gonna be a professional like knitter, but I love cross fitting, 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:35.719 and so we've got to give ourselves this permission of like, 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:38.439 what if you are new at something, What if you 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.760 aren't professional at something, do you still want to try? 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:44.840 I'm never gonna be a professional chef, but I love cooking, 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:47.560 So how do we go back and give ourselves permission 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:49.800 to do that? It literally is just that Delilah of 0:20:49.840 --> 0:20:52.960 literally saying to yourself, it is okay if I don't 0:20:53.000 --> 0:20:56.080 know how to do everything and to be very good 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:58.800 at everything. There is a lot of fun that comes 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:01.800 from trying new things. But if you put the pressure 0:21:01.800 --> 0:21:04.880 on yourself to be a professional all the time, you're 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:09.160 gonna miss out. How can people break out of their habits? 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:11.760 It seems like the older we get, the more set 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:14.719 in our ways. Where we have a routine where you know, 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:16.840 this is my morning, this is my mid day, this 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:18.919 is my afternoon, this is what I do in evening. 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:22.560 That doesn't leave a whole lot of room for creativity 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:25.439 and fun. How can we start to break out of 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:30.000 that routine and invite fun back into our hearts, into 0:21:30.000 --> 0:21:33.919 our day, into our life. So to me, one of 0:21:33.440 --> 0:21:36.159 the real way to break out of our routine is 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:38.720 actually not to ruin the routine you have. Just add 0:21:38.920 --> 0:21:41.800 fun to your calendar. I mean I encourage people all 0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:45.000 the time, Delilah, put thirty minutes of fun on your 0:21:45.040 --> 0:21:47.879 calendar this Saturday, for your whole family, for you and 0:21:47.920 --> 0:21:50.440 your partner, for you and your friends. Just say hey, 0:21:50.480 --> 0:21:53.240 will you block off two to two thirty on Saturday 0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:56.080 for us to have fun? Because everything you put on 0:21:56.119 --> 0:21:58.600 your calendar is what really matters to you and what 0:21:58.680 --> 0:22:02.040 you will prioritize and not just skip over. And so 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:04.760 if you'll put fun on your calendar, then what happens 0:22:04.800 --> 0:22:07.879 is every day between now and Saturday, you're going, what 0:22:07.920 --> 0:22:10.359 are we gonna do in that thirty minutes? What are 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:12.360 we gonna do that sounds fun? Well, what sounds fun 0:22:12.400 --> 0:22:14.920 to them? What sounds fun to me? And then as 0:22:14.960 --> 0:22:17.280 it gets closer, you've really done kind of a deep 0:22:17.320 --> 0:22:19.720 dive in your own heart and in your own life 0:22:19.720 --> 0:22:21.760 about what you want to do in that thirty minutes. 0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:24.840