Let me ENTERTAIN you, let me make you smile

Please do!  Life can be monotonous, difficult, and frankly, boring. Not a cabaret old chum. The desire for distraction in daily life is a worthy pursuit needed and appreciated. Entertainment delivers as Liza Minnelli can attest. The benefit to individuals, couples, and groups is prevalent in the happiness factor of entertainment. When we seek entertainment, we are happy. When we are happy, we are encouraged and when we are encouraged, we are motivated. You get the point.

Our mental health and well-being deserve a happiness break which entertainment provides in different forms and price options. From low cost to pricy we can tap into an hour, day, or week. We can go it alone or be part of group. The possibilities are abundant.

Entertainment: Individual therapy

Don’t feel sociable? Let’s say you have had a week of required meetings at work. You have had too many conference calls, zoom meetings, auditors, or you had to leave your remote job and go into the office. This can be a stressful situation where you just want to be alone.

Alone does not mean that you cannot indulge in benefit of entertainment. Although reading an enjoyable book or listening to music will always work, there are other entertaining venues to consider. Museums are a terrific way to destress quietly without company. A great distraction for individuals is video games. More single indulgences and treats can be food festivals and vendor fairs.

Entertainment: Couples therapy

Besides the similarity of work, couples have added stressors if you add in kids and in-laws. Paired up with a partner, entertainment has oodles of options. Of course, singles can pair up with a partner too. If you need exercise with your entertainment there is ballroom dancing and a variety of sport hobbies. If you prefer to be more relaxed physically, choose from comedy clubs, open mic nights, theater, and concerts.

There are side benefits of seeking entertainment as a couple. In a personal relationship, couples have a positive experience, remember the positive experience, and relive the positive experience together creating a stronger bond. A good memory experience, although it may diminish over time, may reignite the happiness factor. Having a positive experience creates a renewed sense of adventure and excitement. It will develop new and positive patterns for a healthier relationship. Cultural entertainment plays a role in enrichment of experience. Susan Trombetti, a relationship expert, recommends that couples, “…once a month or once a week, try to appreciate new art together.” Creating hobbies together for entertainment, such as wine tasting, solidifies a close personal relationship.

Entertainment: Group therapy

Group happiness is a thing. Just look at any Super Bowl winner. The biggest providers of entertainment value come in the form of, not sports, but concerts. The largest concert attendance was 3.5 million held in 1997 in observation of Moscow’s 850^th birthday. That was a ‘happy’ day. Taking political and religious gatherings off the table, sports draw a distant second even considering football and NASCAR.

 Still, group entertainment can be fulfilling and increase our happiness factor. Large concerts and sports events give us comradery. Similar tastes and interests are happy bonding subjects lasting beyond the event.

Group entertainment does not have to be excessively big to be effective for the happiness factor. Smaller groups are just as beneficial. Are you thinking bowling league? Kinda, sorta?

Studies have shown that people who take part in membership group activities compared to those not in any social group are healthier and live longer. The overall social support of groups to society is noteworthy. The National Library of Medicine notes that group membership, for the individual, yields higher self-esteem and positive self-concept. Not only are we happier in groups, but, in groups, we are also happier as individuals or psychologically internalized in our association with groups.

Conclusion on Entertainment:

Happiness is an emotional state of being. Characterized by our feelings, there are three types of happiness, pleasure, passion, and purpose. Aristotle digs a little deeper into the happiness factor where the belief is the highest form of happiness is intellectual contemplation over a lifetime. This may be true, however, in our stressful world today, we have plenty of entertainment providers that we can tap for short term happiness. In conclusion, entertainment gives us a venue for pleasure, encourages passion, and motivates a sense of purpose.