Don't Give Up: Finding Fun & Happiness in the Midst of Struggle | ES140

Do you have a hard time finding the mental and emotional space to just enjoy the pleasures of life and have fun?

Do you mostly push through your endless daily tasks, trying to ignore stress, anxiety, maybe even anger?

Many people feel that this is the most challenging period in their lifetime, which is why fun and pleasure are not at all on their radar.

However, studies have shown that if we live this way long term, we are not only overall less productive, we are also shortening our life expectancy. There is a biological reason why we have countless neurons that are all designed for us to experience joy and pleasure.

But how can we make use of them if we are always living in a state of struggle and never recharging our system with the things that make our minds and heart truly happy?

Are we even allowed to have fun when the world seems to be falling apart?

Well, this is what my next guest Dr. Michael Rucker has been writing about in his new book, “The Fun Habit: How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life”.

So tune in to learn more.

Dr Friedemann's Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• Dr Rucker Origin Story (00:37)
• Trying To Use The Tools (3:18)
• What Was No Longer Working? (7:51)
• Sometimes There Is More Joy In The Hardship (13:18)
• What Is Happiness? (19:16)
• Experience Is Better Than Things (25:02)
• Find A Replacement Behavior (33:12)
• Set Of Tools Called Savor (37:50)
• Change Is Always Hard (42:07)
• You Don’t Just Stop One Thing And Feel Happier (46:11)

Meet Dr Mike Rucker:

In no particular order: Author. Father. Husband. Organizational psychologist and behavioral scientist. Recovering entrepreneur. Fitness enthusiast with mechanical parts. VW Bus aficionado. Seeker. Traveler. Future astronaut.

The story about myself that I tell in my book The Fun Habit starts in 2016, when the tools that I had built as a student of positive psychology suddenly failed me during one of my life’s most difficult stretches. Finding myself unhappy, a bit lonely, and burnt out, I began to critically evaluate modern approaches to happiness. I quickly realized how much misinformation is out there. Years of research coalesced as The Fun Habit. The Fun Habit is an action-based approach that helps you critically examine your pursuit of happiness and make adjustments using evidence-based practices to invite more fun and joy in your life.

Website: https://michaelrucker.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewonderoffun/

Friedemann Schaub, MD, PhD, is the award-winning author of The Fear + Anxiety Solution. Dr. Schaub has helped thousands of people with his Personal Breakthrough and Empowerment program to overcome their fear and anxiety by addressing the deeper, subconscious root causes of these emotional challenges.

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