The 8 Principles of Having Fun

Jeremy says on March 2nd, 2007 at 10:02 am

So lets apply this theory to a hobby I recently got back into: collecting comic books. I am following rule number 1 by not hiding the shame in being a born again comic book geek. However, Aren’t I contradicting rule 6 at the same time? While I do not consider them crap many, if not all, of the people in my life do.

But then I can look to rule number three and forget the rules????

My head is going to explode…

Aaron M. Potts says on March 2nd, 2007 at 10:31 am

Jeremy,

It’s not crap if YOU see value in it. Crap – by definition – is in the eye of the beholder.

You are only responsible for YOUR reaction to the people around you, so if they don’t like the fact that you collect comics, well, how do I put this bluntly?

WHO CARES???

They’ll get over it. Do what pleases you. After all, the initial goal was to have fun, right? :)

Lake says on March 2nd, 2007 at 10:33 am

Very cool video, thanks for the link.

john ingram says on March 11th, 2009 at 10:02 am

As a teambuilding facilitator, i just get so absorbed by the creativity that flows from people with the right attitude. Fun is a state of mind and i am using the concepts to help others have more fun.

Rahul says on September 19th, 2009 at 8:37 am

its realy very cool…………

Commentator says on December 7th, 2009 at 2:17 am

Utterly revolting. In your opinion “having fun” = “raping all rules, norms and traditions”, “totally disregarding other people’s comfort”, “forcing your point of view of ‘fun’ on others”, etc.

Let me translate those abominable “rules” to a language of normal people (though I doubt there are many, apart of me, who have decided to read such an “article”, I’ll probably only talk to those who are irreversibly corrupted with “fun”, “pleasure”, “entertainment”, “freedom”, “free will”, and similar sick inventions anyway…

Stop hiding who you really are.
= Change your behaviour drastically, so radically, that no one in your environment recognises you any longer. Start bewildering them with your unusual and offensive actions. Burn your bridges. Disregard your past evidently and blatantly. And tell others that this new, repulsive “you” is your “real, inner self”. Let them wonder what happened with your normal, respectful, kind, calm, older self.

Start being intensely selfish.
= So straightforwardly detestable that there’s nothing to comment on.

Stop following the rules.
= …So it is here.

Start scaring yourself.
= This one is actually quite complex. Again, do so radical changes in your life, that you will have no choice but to continue with your new, wicked behaviour. Learn how it is to break rules and norms, enjoy the fear of being punished, then learn that no one is going to punish you (because other people are afraid of you), and become proud of yourself in effect. Then continue the cycle, by committing even more disgusting offences, again – be scared of consequences, again – offend the others, and again – see that no one will be brave enough to reprimand or punish you. Repeat with even stronger offences infinitely. “Scaring yourself” means “feel a pleasant sensation of temporary anxiety, which will be relieved when you see that by ignoring the rules and disregarding the norms you become the most powerful individual in your surroundings (because you are no longer being restrained by them), and there will be less and less people brave enough to confront you”.

Stop taking it all so damn seriously.
= Again, believe that everything you do that offends and scares other people is just your harmful antics, that in fact everyone likes and enjoys (which they, naturally, don’t). In other words: if you are being criticised or reprimanded, worm out from the question by saying, “it was just a joke/I was just having fun/stop fussing about such trivial matters” etc. If they won’t realise that you are a lost case and there is no way they can influence you anymore, offend them more, and again tell it was an unrelevant, funny jest. Repeat the cycle of being offensive and treating it lightly so long that the people you argument with will accept defeat and leave you alone (so that you can commit even more offences and misdemeanours).

Start getting rid of the crap.
= Forget about all rules, norms, conventions, traditions, customs, codes, laws, etc. Also forget about ever remembering about them. Become a totally unrestrained individual, who only has his own pleasures, desires and lusts in mind.

Stop being busy.
= Forget about your duties.

Start something.
= Destroy something old so that something new can take its place. It is impossible to “start something” without eliminating something before (either in you, in other people, or in both). For example, to start having fun, you have to remove all conscience, morality and ethics from yourself. To write a computer program, you first have to loathe people who have created the other, worse versions of it, and disdain its makers (only that will motivate you to work). To create and introduce an idea (on whatever topic), you first have to rebuke and ridicule the one that people were believing in earlier (along with the people who made it, naturally). Generally, “creating the new” = “destroying the old”, just as “constructing” is an antonym of “destructing”. So learn to enjoy destructing those structures that were created by other people (and those people, too).

Don’t worry what others will think about you.
= Disregard other people.

There is probably more to these Nine Anti-Commandments (I used this name because they appeal to you all so powerfully, so naturally, and so evidently, that they will likely become an entire new hedonic religion to you), but I’ve had enough of explaining things to you that you won’t even bother reading, and even if you read them, you’ll simply thrash them as “nonsense”. (Even though you realise perfectly well that I am speaking the truth).

No regards.