
SlowLeadership.com came across an interesting site defining the 8 principles of fun, at eightprinciples.com. It’s a site that is so in love with a few simple rules to enjoy life more, that they’re selling screensavers and things promoting them.
However, SL did something nice and gave a little run down of the 8 rules, while adding an important one of their own.
- 1. Stop hiding who you really are.
- 2. Start being intensely selfish.
- 3. Stop following the rules.
- 4. Start scaring yourself.
- 5. Stop taking it all so damn seriously.
- 6. Start getting rid of the crap.
- 7. Stop being busy.
- 8. Start something.
- 9. Don’t worry what others will think about you.
When do people perform best at any task, from sport to nuclear physics? When they’re relaxed, intent on what they’re doing and more of less oblivious of everything else. When they’re having fun. So loosen up and enjoy your life.
The Eight Principles Movie – [8Principles]
Are you having fun yet? – [SlowLeadership]
















[...] The 8 Principles of Having Fun – LifeHack [...]
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…
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? :)
Very cool video, thanks for the link.
[...] Fuente lifehack.org: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/the-8-principles-of-having-fun.htmlread more | digg story [...]
[...] 从lifehack.org看到转自8Principles关于找乐的八个原则: [...]
[...] lifehack.org转载了关于找乐的八个原则: [...]
[...] Eight Irresistable Principles of Fun from Life Hack via [...]
[...] of family, friends and favorite places add a touch of personality, style, flair, and jazz to any room. Sometimes however it’s difficult to think of inventive [...]
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.
its realy very cool…………
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.
SCARE TO SCARE SOME ONE OR YOURSELF IS TO START SCARING YOURSELF! lol YOU THOUGHT THEY WAS CUTTING EM SELVES LOL! SOUNDS LIKE AN AWESOME LIST TO ME! you MISSED THE POINT LOL
I think someone’s not having any fun :)
[...] If everyone followed this one travel tip, then I would have nothing to teach. More travel agents would be out of business. Travelers would be happier, because they would be saving money and having more fun. [...]
[...] Do you have fun at work and what are your feelings around that? Is fun even allowed in your workplace? Some businesses frown upon it – little realizing that this is one of the gateways to tapping into people’s creativity. [...]
The title of this article should be: “9 steps to becoming a complete waste”.
lol AT THIS and you hhhahaha AS Having fun is what life is about / breaking the rules of society is ie saying YOU MUST etc etc / eat three meals / brush your hair today / WORK in a normal job / etc
You have a very narrow mind and a very boring life lol! FUN is where its at / obviously you belong to the grow up Police as well.. Im not every growing up! CHILDREN have fun and so I will be a child forever then!
I learned to start having fun and had the most phenomenal time of MY LIFE and each and every one of these points were the highlights and the gears that made it all possible!! Whoever wrote this.. I WANNA PARTY WITH YOU.
awful list ,,,, I have more fun not doing things on the so called 8 principals list , I have my own list ,
…borrow someones puppy and take him or her for a walk downtown.
….pick your favorite song , look it up on YouTube Karaoke and sing along.
….get your favorite desert at your best restaurant “to go” and share it with someone special.
….write a love letter to your self.
….get a hair cut
….swim in a lake
….make giant bubbles at the park
….fly a kite , come to think of it who ever wrote the 8 principals of having fun need to do this asap
….give a sincere compliment to someone.
….doddle and blow it up frame it and hang it on the wall
….play any kind of instrument with some degree of skill
…juggle or learn how use eggs or water balloons,
… MAKE YOUR OWN LIST
I am struggling to help someone come up the “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs”, where the bottom is not having food and shelter. They are at this point. I believe, after working with this for a while, that unless a person is ready for self-enlightenment (as progressed to that level of the hierarchy of needs), they are not ready to do this “be insanely selfish” stuff. They need a plan for getting up that hierarchy.
and yes, it is not fun