You Can't Buy Happiness, But It Is Fun To Try?

“You can buy fun, but you can’t buy happiness.” The words from the radio bounced around in my head as I drove home the other day. How is fun related to happiness? Can you have fun but not be happy? Can one be happy without having fun? The more I thought about it the more I felt that fun and happiness may be polar opposites, two forces pulling in different directions. Is that possible?

Fun as defined by Webster is “what provides amusement or enjoyment” while Happiness is defined as “a state of well-being and contentment”. Can it be argued that what provides amusement does not lead to contentment or well-being? I think a sense of well-being comes from being healthy both physically and mentally. It comes from a sense of balance in life, productivity, acceptance and security. So, how can fun be adverse to a sense of well-being? Consider the following examples:

It is not fun to get up early in the morning and go to the gym. It would be much more fun to sleep in but that morning work out is very important to my physical health and contributes to my sense of well-being. Getting exercise makes my happy.

It is fun to go out to eat. It is fun to eat until I can’t move. I love to eat. I love sweet treats. I love to snack. But it makes me happy to feel fit. It makes me happy to look in the mirror and see a body that has shape other than a blob. The fun of eating does not lead to my happiness.

I love techno-gadgets. It is fun to go shopping for the latest and greatest laptop, digital camera, MP3 player; you name it there is no end to. As soon as I buy one, they come out with something better. Oh its fun to bring something new and shiny home, but does it makes me happy? Yes, for a while, until it is neither new nor shiny or until the “new model” comes out. It is a loosing battle. My long-term sense of security, my sense of well-being is better served by a well-funded savings account. Instead of spending my money on trinkets I am better served by saving and investing. Once again conflict between fun and happiness.

I love to lie on the couch and watch football (and snack). It is fun. I look forward to it each Sunday. Then the game ends. The fun is over. The weekend is over and I reflect on what I have accomplished. What I have been able to do with my free time and unless I have made good use of my “non-football” time I am not happy. My sense of well-being comes from being productive. Getting something done. “Killing something and dragging it home” as the saying goes. Building my deck was not fun. It took a lot of time and caused more than a bit of frustration but I can tell you every time I see the finished product it makes me happy.

Fun is short lived, a flash in the pan. Happiness is long lasting, held up by the beams and braces of hard work and diligence. Yes it is true I could not be happy if I had no fun, no football and no ice cream. It seems that fun is not the polar opposite of happiness, but rather one of the many different beams needed to support and balance that important sense of well-being. If my happiness was simply supported by fun it would tumble like a house of cards in a strong wind. Yes, I can buy fun but I will have to continue to work for my happiness.