Creative Pep Talk #97: Have Fun

It’s incredibly counterintuitive, and can even be difficult, but one of the most important things you can do when the world is falling apart is have fun. I explain why in this super short episode.

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Transcript: Have Fun

Please note: This is an unedited transcript, provided as a courtesy, and reflects the actual conversation as closely as possible. Please forgive any typographical or grammatical errors.

Nancy Norbeck [00:00:06]:
Welcome to Follow Your Curiosity. Ordinary people, extraordinary creativity. Here’s how to get unstuck. I’m your host, creativity coach, Nancy Norbeck. Let’s go. Hey, everybody. This is Nancy Norbeck with this week’s Creative Pep Talk. And this week, I wanna talk about having fun.

Nancy Norbeck [00:00:26]:
And there’s a reason that I wanna talk about having fun, and it’s because if you are like many people right now, it feels like the world is falling apart. And there may be more than a feeling to that. That’s not why we are here, but it it may have more truth to it than than not. And in the face of that, in the face of the world falling apart or feeling like it’s falling apart, our instinct is it can be many things. It can be panic. It can be fear. It can be sadness. It can be many things.

Nancy Norbeck [00:01:04]:
And most of those feelings are not positive emotions. It can be to hibernate any of these things. And so I’m here to tell you to try to have fun. And that sounds really, really counterintuitive, but when things seem like they’re falling apart, sinking into fear and panic and hibernation and isolation just tends to make things worse. Whereas having fun and finding joy where we can find it are the things that buoy us, that keep us from falling too far into all of those negative emotions and negative places that make it harder for us to cope. And as Tim Myers and I discussed about a year ago on the podcast, play is an act of resistance. Play is what people don’t want you to do when they’re making the world fall apart. You know, making people panic and resort to fear and is a way of controlling folks so that they can continue to do things that make the world fall apart.

Nancy Norbeck [00:02:17]:
So if you are in that state, whether it is on a personal level or on a larger, more global level, I really encourage you not to give in, to resist through play and fun, whether that is just something as simple as a doodle in your notebook every day because you love it, writing a little poem every day even if it’s silly, playing with your kids, something, anything that reminds you that human beings are wired to create and that creating is fun. It’s our birthright, and it’s a source of joy. It’s that simple. It does not need to be complicated or expensive or any of those things. Privilege should not be a factor here. Kids play with sticks and stones all the time. Use what you have, whether it’s a paper clip, a stub of an old pencil. You know, make make pigment out of berries and, you know, whatever you have.

Nancy Norbeck [00:03:18]:
It’s okay. It doesn’t have to be fancy, and it doesn’t have to be good. It just has to be fun and bring you back into the joy that you know you have, that you deserve, that is yours. That’s it. That’s the pep talk. Keep the joy. Keep the fun as much as you can because you’re gonna need it. You have earned it and you deserve it.

Nancy Norbeck [00:03:48]:
So give that a try. Let me know how it goes. And with that, I’ll see you next time. If this episode resonated with you or if you’re feeling a little bit less than confident in your creative process right now, join me at the spark on Substack as we form a community that supports and celebrates each other’s creative courage. It’s free and it’s also where I’ll be adding programs for subscribers and listeners. The link is in your podcast app, so sign up today. See you there and see you next week. Follow Your Curiosity is produced by me, Nancy Norbeck, with music by Joseph McDade.

Nancy Norbeck [00:04:24]:
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