A Guide to Type 2 Fun & Why It’s Good for You

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Learn how to add more type 2 fun to your life
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Did you know that there are different kinds of fun? The fun scale defines 3 types of fun, and type 2 might just be the most worthwhile of them all. Type 2 fun includes activities that feel challenging or painful while you’re doing them, but that force you to grow and feel fulfilled later. In this article, we’ll explore more about what type 2 fun is, why it’s beneficial for you, and how to leave your comfort zone to experience more of it. Read on to get started!

Type 2 Fun Meaning

Type 2 fun feels uncomfortable or challenging at first, but becomes rewarding or fulfilling later. It includes activities like survival camping, mountain climbing, or other hard tasks that push you to grow and learn. After, you want to experience the “fun” again and may feel inspired to try more challenging things.

Section 1 of 4:

Type 2 Fun, Explained

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  1. Usually, type 2 fun includes activities that push you to test your limits, learn something new, and grow. For example, you may go on a camping trip where you run out of toilet paper, get rained on, and lose your binoculars. It feels irritating while it’s happening, but when it’s all over, you look back on it and laugh and feel like you could do it all over again. [1]
    • What are some type 2 fun activities? Activities like survival camping, backpacking, rock climbing, mountain biking, and backcountry skiing often fall in this category because they’re demanding and difficult, but still rewarding.
    • Anything can be a type 2 fun activity depending on how you experience it and what you gain from it. They don’t all have to be outdoorsy activities, either. Challenges like practicing the violin or even parenting a teenager can be type 2 fun activities.
    • The “fun scale” categorizes activities into 3 types of fun. It’s most often applied to wilderness and survival activities, but can apply to anything!
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Section 2 of 4:

Benefits of Type 2 Fun

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  1. According to Ozdemir, “It's a very courageous act to get out of your comfort zone, because that comfort zone is built on fears. Getting out of your comfort zone means courage, facing those fears, and being ready to expand your horizons.”
    • For example, say you love running but avoid it on hot days because you’re afraid of how others might perceive you when you’re sweaty and disheveled. Challenging yourself to run anyway is a way to overcome this fear and still get the satisfaction of a type 2 fun activity.
  2. Ozdemir continues, “it's all about understanding yourself, knowing yourself, and getting to know yourself. So, if somebody wants to get out of their comfort zone, that means that they are ready to explore other sides of themselves.” As author Roy T. Bennett once said, “Until you step into the unknown, you don’t know what you’re made of.”
    • For example, imagine you get dragged along to a complex corn maze you were anxious to enter, but end up discovering you’re an excellent navigator and cool under stress. You may not have known this without suffering through the maze first!
  3. When you push yourself to overcome a challenge (physical or metaphorical), you get the chance to prove to yourself that you’re a more capable, strong, resourceful person than you may have thought. This is a great way to boost your self-esteem, increase your confidence , and make you feel like you really accomplished something. [2]
    • Say you expected to be terrible at backpacking, but you pushed through and ended up having a successful trip. You proved your negative expectations wrong, and now you feel accomplished!
  4. Type 2 fun feels challenging in the moment and often forces you to leave your comfort zone. You may feel like giving up when the going gets tough, but digging deep and finding your inner tenacity proves your resilience. You’ll look back on the task and realize you did what you thought was impossible, and the fulfillment from pushing through those moments can inspire you to pursue even more challenging ventures later. [3]
    • Imagine practicing the violin and working on the most difficult piece you’ve ever played. There are moments when you feel you’ll never be able to learn the entire thing, but when you finally make it to the end, you’ll feel like there’s no challenge you can’t meet.
  5. Type 2 fun is often memorable because of its challenging nature. The pride of accomplishment and the deep bonds you form with the people who shared your experience stick with you (usually more than the negative parts). These fond memories keep you coming back for more (and they usually make for a great story, too!).
    • Think back on a trying time where you pulled through, like a vacation where your hotel double booked your room and you had to find hasty, less-than-desirable accommodations. You probably remember laughing with your friends about the situation more than the actual frustration.
  6. Pushing through tough challenges shows you how to appreciate when things are going right for you (“Things could be worse”). Plus, the lessons you learn can be applied to other parts of your life—not just the activity you learned them during.
    • Say you notice that you get pretty testy when you’re under stress on a rock climbing outing. You could take this self-realization into work or your relationships to help keep a cool head under pressure.
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Section 3 of 4:

Leaving Your Comfort Zone to Have Type 2 Fun

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  1. Ozdemir recommends writing down your most highly ranked personal values and asking yourself honestly which ones you’re not upholding. “You’re going to start to see that your comfort zone is a little contracted. Maybe you have five values, and you're only honoring two of those, and your life is a little stagnant.” Look at your other values and make a plan to incorporate it into your life.
    • Ozdemir continues, “You might look at the third value and say, ‘Oh my god, it's so important for me to be in nature, but I've been stuck at home watching TV or there’s too much work or homework that I've never honored my value.’ So now, you are getting out of your comfort zone.”
    • This could inspire you to hike, backpack, or do other type 2 fun activities in nature.
  2. Shahbazyan’s advice is to “look around for people you look up to and see what they do. [See] what successful people are accomplishing in both the day-by-day part of their life and the bigger picture. What is it that they do? [You can] get some ideas from there.”
    • Say you notice a successful colleague who always hits the gym before work. You may be a bit nervous about using a public gym, but pushing yourself to try it can be a type 2 fun activity.
  3. “A lot of times, looking into your childhood or teenage years and maybe picking up some old hobbies, maybe picking up things that you never thought were possible until you were an adult” is a good way to expand your comfort zone, according to Shahbazyan. “And if you’re younger, get excited and stay excited about stuff.”
    • For example, if you loved playing soccer as a kid but have been stuck behind a desk for your whole adult life, joining a rec league could be a great way to awaken an old passion and try new things.
  4. If you’re super cemented in your daily routines, you might feel like you’re on autopilot and not experiencing all that life has to offer. Introduce a little bit of spontaneity into your day or week to shake things up and get out of that rut . You don’t have to upend your entire lifestyle—a few small tweaks can make a difference! [4]
    • Say you work from home full-time and feel a little stuck. You could try working from a different place a few times a week, like a coffee shop or library, to change things up and experience a new routine.
  5. Traveling is fun, eye-opening, and can be challenging when you’re venturing into the unknown. Instead of your annual vacation to the same resort, try some place completely new. Not just a different resort—think of somewhere with a different environment, way of life, or even language, like traveling to a new country. Exploring and adapting to new surroundings is a great way to have some type 2 fun, appreciate the natural world more deeply, and challenge your way of thinking. [5]
  6. When you feel discomfort, think of the feeling as a sign that you’re entering new or unexplored territory, rather than a sign that you need to turn around and return to your comfort zone. Discomfort can be a good thing—it means you’re growing and learning new ways of thinking. It’s the way to cross the boundary of your comfort zone. [6]
    • For example, you may feel apprehensive about getting on a new, ultra-fast roller coaster. Imagine the anxiety as a sign that you get to experience something new soon instead of a warning to retreat.
    • Warning: Don’t intentionally put yourself in a dangerous situation because you’re ignoring your discomfort or gut feelings. Mild discomfort can give way to type 2 fun, but if something feels very wrong or unsafe, it likely is.
  7. You don’t have to go skydiving ASAP to feel like you’re stepping out of your usual routine. Instead, think of things that give you just a little stress to get started. Studies show that mild pressure or anxiety can improve your motivation to try new things, but too much too soon may just lead to panic. [7]
    • For example, maybe you opt to try taking public transportation to work one day instead of driving. The subway can be intimidating, but it’s an accessible challenge that’ll feel rewarding and lead you to try more new, fun things.
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Section 4 of 4:

Fun Types 1 & 3

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  1. Type 1 fun feels fun both while you’re having it and afterward. It’s just good old-fashioned fun! Even if you don’t complete the fun task “successfully” (for example, losing a fun game of beer pong), you still enjoyed yourself and would do it again once it’s over. [8]
    • What are some type 1 fun activities? It’s subjective, but could include things like going to the beach with friends, having margaritas on a hot day, catching up with loved ones on the phone, or going out to celebrate a birthday.
    • Some people use “type 1.5” to describe fun that’s a bit more challenging than type 1, but not as intense as type 2 (for example,
  2. Type 3 is the opposite of type 1—the activity is not enjoyable while you’re doing it, and afterward, you feel like you never want to do it again. There’s usually no excitement or anticipation about these activities as they can be life-threatening or dangerous. Essentially, type 3 fun is not really fun at all. [9]
    • What are some type 3 fun activities? These could include things like a canoe tipping over in a river, a wild storm threatening your camp, or outrunning a bear on a hike.
    • Sometimes, type 3 fun can evolve into type 2 as time passes. When you look back on it, you may have fonder memories and feel more fulfilled than you did immediately after.
    • The traditional fun scale only has 3 levels. Some say there is a type 4 (things that feel fun in the moment but that you regret later, like drinking too much), and even a type 5 (things that are almost humorously un-fun and dangerous, like an extreme type 3).
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-of-fun/202404/type-ii-fun-embracing-hard-fun-for-personal-growth
      2. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-of-fun/202404/type-ii-fun-embracing-hard-fun-for-personal-growth
      3. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-of-fun/202404/type-ii-fun-embracing-hard-fun-for-personal-growth
      4. ↑ https://www.betterup.com/blog/comfort-zone
      5. ↑ https://www.betterup.com/blog/comfort-zone
      6. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-shift-of-mind/201108/breaking-free-from-your-comfort-zone
      7. ↑ https://www.betterup.com/blog/comfort-zone
      8. ↑ https://travel-shark.com/type-2-fun/
      9. ↑ https://travel-shark.com/type-2-fun/

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