Alysa Liu and the Power of Fun
That's what I'm #*@$-ing talking about!!
Friends:
I have a question for you. As the winter Olympics draw to a close, am I the only one who can’t stop watching Alysa Liu’s reaction to her gold medal performance in women’s figure skating?
For those of you who haven’t been following along, Liu — who (among many other accomplishments) was the youngest ever women’s national champion in 2019 when she was just 13 — retired from the sport in 2022, saying that the pressure and training schedule were so intense that “there were many, many times when I didn't enjoy it.” She explained that competitive figure skating can be all-consuming and that, after years of pressure and high-stakes competition, she was “moving on with [her] life.”
But then in March 2024, after being inspired by how much she enjoyed her first-ever ski trip, she announced that she was making a comeback . . . on her own terms. She started competing again, but with a very different attitude: she put less pressure on herself and, as a result, began to skate with a lot more joy. As she put it, “I am more present for sure, more happy and fun.”
That happiness and fun was on full display last week, when Liu won the first U.S. gold medal in women’s figure skating in 24 years, skating an exuberant, joyful program that is nearly impossible to watch without smiling (and, if you’re like me, maybe crying a bit, too). Afterwards, Liu was so overjoyed by her own performance that as she skated off the ice, she leaned over to the camera and yelled, “THAT’S WHAT I’M F-ING TALKING ABOUT!” before being embraced by her coaches.
But even before she knew that she had nailed her routine, Liu gave off none of the anxiety and stress that radiated from her competitors. Instead, according to one commentator, “Through it all she has just been kind of like, ‘Oh, this is FUN!’”
Fun: It’s What I’m &$*%-ing Talking About
As many of you know, I’m obsessed with fun. I wrote a book about it; I gave a TED talk about it; I was just on NPR discussing it. I’m constantly trying to convince people that fun is important and worth prioritizing. I’m also constantly fighting back against the idea that fun — which I define as the magical confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow — is frivolous, or just for the privileged, or irresponsible, or a waste of time, or that prioritizing fun will make you less productive. (God forbid that any of us ever become less productive!)
Instead, I believe that fun is a joyful, energizing feeling that erases differences, silences our inner critics, brings people together, and makes us feel alive. When people have fun, they glow with an energy that feels life-giving to be around — which might explain why, when asked my daughter when she was about five years old what color she thought fun would be, she said, “Sunshine.”
As I watched Alysa Liu win her gold medal, relaxed and totally herself, cheered on by an ecstatic crowd and skating a nearly flawless routine with an enormous smile on her face, I kept thinking, “She is embodying the power of fun!” I wasn’t the only one to pick up on this. When I listened to the commentators’ reactions immediately after she finished skating, I was amazed by how many of their descriptions used the same words I use when I talk about fun:
“It is like she is just playing on the ice. [She’s] not even performing any more.”
“It is childlike joy.”
And, perhaps my favorite:
“She is just all sunshine on the ice.”
Sunshine is Powerful
Not only did Liu’s playful attitude make her performance a total joy to watch, but as many other people have pointed out as well, it helped her win the medal. As one commentator put it, “She’s figured out how to compete without carrying the weight of it. She stays so loose and completely herself out there. That’s the secret every athlete wants to solve.”
Now, it’s important for me to point out that I don’t think we should treat fun as a productivity hack — fun is worth prioritizing just for its own sake. (And as Liu herself has said multiple times, her goal for the Olympics wasn’t to medal—it was to skate and shine for herself, to connect with the audience, and to show the world her art.)
But with that said, I think that Liu’s performance is beautiful (and literally shiny!) proof that fun is not frivolous, or a waste of time. It demonstrates how much more we all might be able to accomplish (and how much more we would enjoy the process) if we embraced a more playful attitude, grounded ourselves more in the present, and took ourselves a little less seriously. I encourage you to watch it if you haven’t already — and I dare you to do so without smiling.
Congratulations to Alysa Liu — and thank you for reminding us of the power of fun.
This framing is so great. It really is powerful watching somebody have so much fun!!!
Yup! We need a return to fun. The U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team let their joy be known too.