Is Your “Fun” Really Any Fun?
I don’t like fireworks.There. I’ve said it. I feel much better now.
The 4th of July is this weekend, and in Philadelphia, the firework displays start a good week prior. This past weekend I was making plans with two friends, and the general idea was to have dinner and then walk over to see the fireworks.
Now I don’t hate fireworks, and I am not morally or philosophically opposed, I just don’t get any enjoyment out of them. So I figured if others wanted to go see fireworks, I would go along.
After dinner, someone says, “so what are your thoughts about going to see the fireworks?”
I remain silent. If people want to go, I don’t want to sway them or make them feel guilty about making me go.
Someone says, “I could go either way.” Someone else says, “yeah, whatever.”
Sensing a pivotal moment where I can get out of going to see the show without being a bad guy, I cautiously offer up, “you know, to be honest, I’m not really a huge fan of fireworks. I don’t feel a compelling need to go see them.”
The response?
“Yeah, me either.”
“Me either”
Hallelujah!
Fortunately, the apartment we were in had a view of the show, so we watched the fireworks from the comfort of my buddy’s bedroom. We all then agreed that while the show was nice, pretty much every fireworks ever is about 15 minutes too long. In my opinion, as a direct result of not going to see the show, the night turned out great.
So what’s the point of this story? There are two:
Point #1 – You Never Know What People Like, So Speak Up
If none of us had spoken up and said that we weren’t huge fans of fireworks, we may have ended up walking to the show even though none of us cared. A lot of times we make assumptions about what other people like or are thinking. This is a recipe for disaster! Don’t make assumptions about other people. You know the old saying, “When you assume, you make yourself look like a giant dumbass.” That’s how the saying goes, right…?
Point #2 – It’s Ok To Not Like Things You SHOULD Like
It seems like there are things that people do because they are supposed to do like them, not because they actually like them. Like fireworks. I’m sure there are plenty of people who like fireworks. If you have kids, or just happen to be easily amused by bright, shiny, sky explosions, then sure. If so, let me know, I may have an old Lite-Brite I can sell you…
If you are offended by that last joke and feel tempted to write me a lengthy comment pontificating on the awesomiosity of fireworks and calling me out for being anti-American since fireworks on the 4th are as American as apple pie, I have two things for you:
- You are missing the point of this post. You shouldn’t care what I think about fireworks. The point here is to pay attention to what you like and not care about what everyone else likes or doesn’t like. Just stop doing things because it’s supposed to be fun.
- Post your comment anyway! I love an active comment section on my blog…
Here then, for my own catharsis and show you I am willing to walk my talk, I declare a (partial) list of things that society thinks I should like that I really just don’t:
- Fireworks
- Baseball
- Coldplay
- Parades
- John Irving novels
- Alien and Blade Runner
- Scotch
- Macs
You could reply telling me how crazy I am not to like that stuff (I know you Mac geeks are chomping at the bit right now), or you could…you know…just not…
This may seem like and obvious point, but I challenge you to really think about the things you do in a given week or month “for fun,” and then think about whether you really have fun doing those things or not.
The first step in the step-by-step process to improvising with anything is to have fun! How can you really have fun if you don’t know what fun is?
Update! Check out the follow up post and add your own list of “things I should like but don’t!”

About
By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+
7 Responses to “Is Your “Fun” Really Any Fun?”
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It’s about time someone came out and said this. And I’m with you on the parade thing too. I mean what’s so fascinating about watching a bunch of old cars covered with chicken wire that’s been stuffed with colored toilet paper driving down the street and holding up traffic.
I do however confess to having read “The World According to Garp” innumerable times.
Is this an exhaustive list, or have you come around on children’s choirs?
Thanks Rob! I have tried John irving multiple times. I had three separate people tell me that “A Prayer for Owen Meany” was their favorite book of all time, so I gave it a shot. The first timw I made it to page 50, the second time about 125, but just lost interest. Actually, I never had interest, I just kept plugging along. I also tried the Cidar House Rules, but couldn’t get into that either.
Regarding parades, I wrote an extended diatribe about my parade dislike a couple of years ago. You can read it here.
No. just a partial list – I forgot about the children’s choir thing. Thank you for putting that in my head…
I agree that GOING to see fireworks is overrated, but not liking them is surprising. I do agree with the rest of your list of things you should enjoy but don’t though, especially parades….parades are just plain boring and stop up traffic.
Thanks Nathan!
I am not morally opposed to fireworks, so I suppose yes, it is correct to say that I don’t like GOING to them, and that my problem is not with the concept of fireworks. Except for the personal ones that kids like to use – those to me are stupid and dangerous!
By the way, if you want to read more about my dislike of parades, read this article I wrote a little while back.
You are stupid and un-American.
On the other hand, if you can’t stand children’s choirs, maybe we have a point of agreement.