Make it Fun

A group did this experiment at a metro stop in Stockholm to see if they could get more people to take the stairs over the escalator. They turned the stairs into piano keys. Think Tom Hanks in Big. Hidden cameras caught 66 percent more people taking the stairs that day. It proves their fun theory: the easiest way to change someone’s behavior is to make it fun.

And so it is with health. What’s the point in being healthy if it’s not making you happy, right? And can you even truly be healthy if you’re not happy? Aren’t healthy and happy one in the same? Healthy is not miserable. But we have it in our heads that healthy food should taste bad and exercise should be painful. I blame Snack Wells and low-fat Ranch. They told us that the not as good tasting version is “better for you.” We now know (or should know) that’s a bunch of bologna. I digress. My point is the healthier choice stands a chance of being chosen if it’s fun (or in the case of cookies and salad dressing, if it tastes good.) If something’s fun or different or just a little intriguing, then we just might do it. And if we enjoy it, then we just might do it again. And in the end we’re that much happier and healthier because of it.