292: True Fun vs. Fake Fun with Catherine Price

Pivot with Jenny Blake

“Fun isn’t just a result of human thriving; it is a cause.” Our guest today, Catherine Price, is breaking down the difference between True Fun (the intersection of playfulness, connection, and flow) and Fake Fun, the hypnosis of passive consumption.

Fun creates the ultimate flow state: a self-reinforcing cycle that helps us prioritize the things that bring us joy. Life isn’t all joy, of course, and we also talk about the nerves that can result from things like preparing to give a TED talk. We discuss overcoming those nerves and how Cathering gave one of the most well-received talks that year.

More about Catherine: Catherine Price helps people scroll less, live more, and have fun. She is a science journalist, speaker, and the author of books including How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life and The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again. Catherine is also the creator and founder of Screen/Life Balance.

🌟3 Key Takeaways:

• Fun is a feeling, not an activity. It can result from anything, even trivial things! Seek out what gives you the feeling of playful connected flow.
• What are your fun magnets? The situations, settings and groups you know are likely to be fun. If you identify where you’re the most likely to have fun, you can plan for it and enjoy it more often - but keep your mind open for unexpected, serendipitous fun, too.
• Notice and call out the moments when you are having real fun. The more new experiences you have, and the more aware you are of the fun you’re having, the more opportunities you are going to have for it.

✅Next Action: Provided by Guest

Conduct a mini-science experiment on yourself to identify your fun magnets. Think of a few moments recently where you have felt true fun (playful, connected flow) and write them down. Do they have anything in common like people, setting, activity, and mood? Once you have identified something likely to be fun, try to schedule it for yourself in the next week. Notice if you have fun doing it, and what kind of impact it has on your energy and mood.

📘Books Mentioned:

• Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business
• Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One
• How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life
• The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again
• VITAMANIA: How Vitamins Revolutionized the Way We Think About Food
• Mindfulness: A Journal
• 101 Places Not to See Before You Die
• The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook

🔗Resources Mentioned:

• Catherine on the web, Instagram, Twitter
• Personality Quiz: What's Your Fun Personality Type?
• TED Talks: Why Fun is the Secret to a Happier Life, Flow, the Secret to Happiness
• NYT Quiz: What's Your Fun Vibe?

🎧Related Podcast Episodes:

• 281: Feeling Impostery? Become a Qualified Curator Instead of an Expert
• 251: Listener Q&A on (Furry) Imposter Monsters
• 228: How I Run My Business Without Social Media
• 059: Captivate: Secrets from Viral TED Talks with Vanessa Van Edwards

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📝 Check out full show notes from this episode with links to resources mentioned at http://pivotmethod.com/292

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