Meghan Markle Isn’t Afraid of the ‘F’ Word; Why Are You?

“What I see in my work is that many adults aren’t avoiding fun because they don’t want it, they’re avoiding it because they’ve learned to prioritize output over experience,” Cohen adds. “Fun feels inefficient, and inefficiency feels unsafe in a world that rewards doing more, not feeling better.”

But having fun doesn’t have to be at odds with being a well-rounded human.

“Fun isn’t about avoiding responsibility. It’s about restoring the nervous system so we can meet responsibility with more clarity and energy,” she says. “Adults who allow themselves moments of play aren’t less serious about life, they’re often more grounded, adaptable and emotionally available.”

If you balk at the thought, you’re not alone: “I feel behind if I'm not using every last moment to be productive, whether that means working, cleaning the house or taking my son to baseball practice,” researcher and Daring Greatly author Brené Brown said back in 2014. “But I can't ignore what the research (mine and others') tells us: Play—doing things just because they're fun and not because they'll help achieve a goal—is vital to human development.”

Indeed, making time for fun—aka “time spent without purpose,” which Brown also described as her “definition of an anxiety attack”—can lower stress levels, boost your mood and help you enter and stay in a flow state easier.

So, how can you make time for fun…without the cringe or anxiety attack?

Cohen suggests seeking “micro-joys,” or “doing something just because it feels good, not because it’s productive, like dancing while making coffee or listening to a song you loved as a teenager.” Or adding a sense of whimsy to your routine: “wearing a color that lifts your mood, taking the long way home or using your favorite mug on an ordinary day.” And, in the realm of stopping apologizing for everything, you need to let “yourself laugh without explaining it away or minimizing it.”

It’s easy to hear Meghan say that people put too much stress on certain moments, getting “so consumed in them that you lose the fun of why you are doing something,” and dismiss it with a “must be nice” and an eyeroll. But it’s also worth noting that it’s something she’s fought for after years of intense scrutiny under the public eye. Play—and fun—has become a well she taps into, helping her stay resilient amid the deluge of opinions people have on everything she does—especially her marriage.

In fact, it was her husband’s sense of “childlike wonder and playfulness” that has been transformative in her life: “I was so drawn to that, and he brought that out in me. That’s translated into every part of our life,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “I want us to play and have fun and explore and be creative.”

It’s OK to want that for yourself, too. So go ahead, embrace the f-word in 2026. I dare you.