112: The Science of FUN with Mike Rucker, PhD

When was the last time you felt overwhelmingly happy? When I have asked this to people in the past, it has almost always paired with a time when they were having fun. We have talked about play before (episode 105), and in this episode Mike differentiates play from fun and shares some great tips on how we can fit more fun into our every day life.  He tells the story of how he got into researching fun in the first place and talks about how fun can really have an impact on our wellbeing. He expounds on his play model (found here: https://michaelrucker.com/having-fun/optimize-having-fun-play-model/) and shows us how we can optimize the fun that we are already having.  Find Mike here:  https://michaelrucker.com https://twitter.com/performbetter https://www.facebook.com/mike.rucker.phd https://www.instagram.com/thewonderoffun/ Dr. Mike Rucker is a charter member of the International Positive Psychology Association, as well as a member of the American Psychological Association. Mike is a frequent contributor to national press such as Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and CIO on topics related to well-being. Mike has spent the last few years studying the construct of fun and is coming out with a book on the subject in the summer of 2020. He has also published in peer-reviewed journals covering topics from employee well-being to ethics.