How to Actually Have Fun

Weird Girls have Weird Hobbies

For one of my forty books of 2025, I read Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It was a bit heady and dense at some points, but full of interesting studies around the human brain and cognition. Toward the end, he explores something called a U-index that was a measure of unhappiness in people.

film fun mag, unknown artist, via art institute of chicago

In that section, he made a distinction between passive and active participation in something, claiming that those who did more passive participation were largely unhappier with their life.

I think in today’s world, it would be fair to call it passive consumption versus active participation. I have gone through doomscrolling phases of my life, where I didn’t really know what I was working toward, but then I learned to love being in the arena, to not be afraid of failure or embarrassment, or simply trying.

Scrolling is passive consumption, but it’s not evil. I’m a fan of all things in moderation. Hobbies that I’ve taken up as I’ve grown to love active participation are running, going to the sauna, cooking, karaoke, open mics, journaling, and more. Now, I love trying new things. I get bored easily and actually need to do new things quite often to stay entertained. That’s one of the reasons why I think I’ve been writing online a bit less. I’ve been really busy living in the present without feeling the need to document everything.

If you are feeling like you’re in a phase of your life where you are passively participating and you want to actively participate, I recommend starting with one of our guided journals to really learn something and think about how you want to show up in the world. In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill talks about organized planning and action. How planning is nothing without action.

In the digital age, we have all of these planning tools at our fingertips, behind screens, but sometimes the best thing you can do is a write a little bit by hand, outside in the park, and then get on with a life you’re excited about.

Last last night, for example. I couldn’t sleep and instead of going on my phone, or even reading a book, I grabbed my guitar and played for a bit in the dark until I got sleepy.

It’s time to participate in all of those weird hobbies you keep eyeing.

I believe in you! it’s fun to be a part of things

xx

hailo

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