That Sounds Fun Summary

1-Sentence-Summary: That Sounds Fun uncovers the secrets of a happy life: mindfulness, love, joy, and a good dose of doing whatever makes us happy as often as we can, starting from simple, day-to-day activities, to much bigger life experiences that speak to our soul.

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Favorite quote from the author:

That Sounds Fun Summary

They say that happiness is found in little things, yet no one ever maps out what these little things are. Well, That Sounds Fun by Annie F. Downs does just that! The book shares life’s tiny secrets and the best places to find joy and love, while also highlighting the importance of actively seeking to practice these things, whatever they mean to you.

While everyone is different, we’re all wired to look for purpose and happiness. Our means might vary, but our end goal is the same. That is why this book is perfect for anyone looking for meaning or a way to address their hurt and disappointment. It all starts by having fun. If that sounds simple, wait until we uncover the entire summary. 

Perhaps it sounds complicated, as we’re all way too busy these days and we don’t have the time to engage with non-lucrative activities. Nevertheless, we’ll talk about ways to have pure fun without doing it out of obligation. Just for a couple of minutes, let’s remember how it is to experience real joy again, just like when we were kids. 

Here are three of my favorite lessons from the book: 

  1. Pure joy and fun can be found in the simplest of moments.
  2. Living in the present moment can help you discover true joy. 
  3. Before we start having fun, we need to deal with our negative feelings first.

Time to explore each lesson in detail and learn everything they have to offer, starting with the first one.

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Lesson 1: Authentic happiness and fun don’t necessarily imply a fancy vacation, but a simple treat.

According to the author, fun isn’t an activity, but a feeling. She remembers vividly her childhood memories and looks back at a much simple time with joy and nostalgia. While in Georgia, she used to snap beans with her mother and grandmother from dusk till dawn. The best part? Well, that was the best part! 

The idea of doing nothing, enjoying the present moment, and living simply doesn’t sound complicated at all. And yet practice beats all of us to it. Perhaps that’s the reason we look back on our childhood with nostalgia and a feeling of good old joy. But what if we could restore these emotions and integrate them into our everyday lives?

The author suggests that enjoying the little things and doing more of those tiny activities that make us happy will do the trick. It might be enjoying a cup of hot chocolate, watering plants, riding a bicycle, or anything at all. 

The idea is that happiness doesn’t come from future events, fancy trips, or expensive items. Rather, it comes from anything that makes you happy personally. Don’t take my word for it. Just look around: rich people often feel depressed regardless of their possessions. But children, people who live in the countryside, or simple families often get to know the highest of joys.

Lesson 2: Fun starts right here, right now, so stop planting seeds for your future joy.

The author has a valuable lesson for all of us: stop planting seeds for the future and start harvesting the ones you’ve been growing for so long. As a single woman, she constantly delayed her happiness for a future state of being where she’d be married to someone.

She didn’t buy a house, didn’t go on her dream trip to Europe, and more absurdly, she even delayed buying great coffee mugs, saving everything for a life shared in two. The problem? She was still in the dating phase, and after a rejection, her heart was broken. It was then that she went to an emotional retreat. 

And then, it hit her. It was time to enjoy all these little things, have fun, and stop postponing happiness. The lesson here is that joy starts when you let go of your imagination and start living in the present moment. Take a moment as you’re reading this to acknowledge that you’re alive and be happy about it. 

Count your blessings and start living joyfully, without waiting for some end goal to come true. Find pleasure in the little things while still working for what you desire in the future. Isn’t that a healthier approach to life? Life is a real thing, but our dream future isn’t, so stop living in it.

Lesson 3: Having fun is no excuse to deny your true feelings.

Sometimes life sends hardships our way only to make us braver and stronger. During those difficult times, it may be hard to enjoy life and have fun. And the author knows it all too well. During a trip to Lone Valley, she felt as if she must have fun because everyone else does so.

The problem with fake smiling is that it makes us even sadder. Fortunately, the leader of the group saw through the smile and encouraged her to be vulnerable and feel her feelings. While the author didn’t suddenly let go of all her negative feelings, she felt at ease knowing that she can fully experience her inner world. 

At times, it’s best to acknowledge what we truly feel and deal with that before we can enjoy life to its fullest. For this reason, she used the trip to deepen her connection with God, and acknowledge and feel her emotions, so by the time she went back home, her heart was at peace and she could experience fun again.

Another great aspect that the book highlights is the importance of having hobbies. In time, we often forget about our silly passions and leisure activities due to work and overbooked schedules. However, if we truly want to live happier days or deal with whatever is hurting us, hobbies can play a role in the process.

That Sounds Fun Review

That Sounds Fun is a wake-up call for anyone who wants to have fun again, find joy, or rediscover the joy of little things. We often prioritize our work over our leisure time, only to later resent that we never get to reap the fruits of our labor.

If that sounds like you, you’ll be happy to discover the way out of work’s vicious loop Downs offers, do more of what makes you happy, and become content with where you stand in life.

Who would I recommend the That Sounds Fun summary to?

The 35-year-old person who feels as if life gets too much in the way of fun and great experiences, the 40-year-old who wants to quit their 9-5 job and start living a more spontaneous and joyful life, or the 23-year-old who is going through a tough breakup and wants to learn how to deal with it by having fun and doing more of what makes her happy.

Last Updated on October 6, 2022

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Maria Deac

While working with my friend Ovi's company SocialBee, I had the good fortune of Maria writing over 200 summaries for us over the course of 18 months. Maria is a professional SEO copywriter, content writer, and social media marketing specialist. When she's not writing or learning more about marketing, she loves to dance and travel all over the world.