Current Thoughts: The Value of Type 2 Fun
I recently climbed Mt. Rainier and summited. At 14,411 feet, it’s the tallest glaciated peak in the continental U.S. — and the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
The climb takes two days (three if you add glacier training). The summit push starts around 11 p.m., with the goal of reaching the top by sunrise and descending all the way down in one shot. For us, that meant 17 hours straight — finishing at 4 p.m. battered, blistered, and exhausted.
Afterward, my mother-in-law confusingly asked if it was “fun.” The answer depends on how you define fun.
- Type 1 Fun: enjoyable in the moment — a good meal, a walk on the beach, a round of golf.
- Type 2 Fun: miserable in the moment, but meaningful afterward — climbing a mountain, running a marathon, pushing past your limits.
Type 1 fun is like a splurge — instantly gratifying. Type 2 fun is more like an investment — painful upfront, but with compounding returns in accomplishment, resilience, and memory.
Both are valuable. But if we avoid discomfort, we starve ourselves of Type 2 fun. And like any investment never made, we look back wishing we had when we could.
Things I like
| Kelly Starrett has a gift for making health and movement accessible. In this podcast episode, he covers strategies for mobility, flexibility, recovery, posture, and performance — from zero-cost warmups to practical pain management. Worth a listen: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1w09FSSBjr886oj2f4BOY6?si=i7mbZUbTQO6TYedsqJ_0lA&nd=1&dlsi=9a57f62370b44365 |
Things to Check out
Why does Japan — one of the world’s most developed nations — have such low obesity rates compared to the West? Here’s a breakdown worth watching:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKXRTlDNZFe/
Have a great week!
David