"Don't Trade Fun For Fun" Is The Life Advice We Didn't Know We Needed

Have you ever been given a piece of advice that has fundamentally changed the way you approach certain aspects of your life? I hope so. Because when these little life hacks present themselves, they can improve things for the better in ways we didn’t know possible. In a recent throwback video, TikTok creator Casey (@rulerlesscasey) shares the wisdom that’s altered her approach to how she looks at the world.

She recalls a time she walked into the waiting area of a music school where she was working and saw two little brothers playing with the toys. Their mom was working on her laptop as her sons went about their business and Casey complimented how nicely they were playing.

“She said ‘Yeah, our lessons are over and we were going to go to the park,’” Casey says. “‘But, you know, don’t trade fun for fun.’”

The idea was absolutely revelatory to Casey, who considers this some of the wisest advice she’s received, and in the ensuing years has had plenty of opportunity to put it to use. Like, if the baby is happy playing with the box and wrapping paper, she offers, no need to push them to play with the toy contained within.

Now, I’ve heard a version of this advice as well, often as “Don’t try to make a happy baby/child happier.” It’s served me well as a parent, and alleviated no small amount of guilt if I wondered “Should I be doing more?”

But then Casey offered examples that blew my mind.

“If you’re really into a particular hobby for a while you don’t have to feel bad for the hobbies you’re neglecting — just keep following your interests,” she says.

OH. See, I’ve been happy to absorb this advice as a mom considering a child, but I’ve never thought to apply it to myself, a human adult woman in the year of our Lord (Beyoncé) 2024. You mean to tell me I can take this approach with myself?

She continues...

“If you always want to order the same thing when you go to a restaurant, just keep ordering the thing that you love. If you’ve planned a bunch of different games for a party but people are having a blast with the first one, just let them.

“Often, we don’t need to control things so tightly,” she concludes. “We don’t need as much variety as we think we do. If we catch a wave, we can ride it all the way into shore, and then we can go looking for another wave.”

So the next time you think you should be doing more or something else, ask yourself if it’s necessary or whether you’re trading fun for fun. Because there’s always (always) another wave coming, and sometimes it’s just nice to float.