You might be watching a film about an artist, and your friend will say, “I used to love making pottery when I was in school. I wish I could do
it again.”
Or perhaps you will be walking along the beach and you will pass someone on Rollerblades and your partner will say, “I love rollerblading! I used to do it all the time when I was younger.”
Or maybe you will treat yourself to an ice cream once in a blue moon, and think about how much you love ice cream but you can’t remember the last time you had it.
When we are younger, we don’t have a problem doing the things we love. They seem to come naturally, and the focus of our day is centered on play and fun. However, when we get older we tend to focus more on work and obligations.
Unfortunately, this causes us to forget how to play and do the things that we enjoy. For some reason, we deny ourselves these things, telling ourselves that if we indulge in life’s simple pleasures we are somehow being irresponsible or childish.
However, this is the kind of thinking which causes so many adults to feel unhappy with their lives and look so fondly back on the playful days of childhood.
Do What You Enjoy
What is the simple solution to this?
Take time for yourself to do the things you enjoy in life.
It sounds easy, but when is the last time you did it?
The first step is to think about what you really enjoy doing. Don’t worry about what you should be doing, or what is most productive or efficient. Think about what brings you joy, whether it is wall climbing, learning a new language, or watching cheesy horror films.
You will already know what these things are, but you might not have allowed yourself to enjoy them for so long that they might be hard to remember. For a hint, think back to what you loved as a child or teenager.
Now make time in your schedule to enjoy these things that you love. If you love lying in the sun reading a good book, cancel your plans for the weekend and grab your beach towel. If you always loved playing theatre games in school, take an adult improv class one evening per week. If your pleasure is music, go see a live band perform every so often rather than going to the same bar every Friday night.
Allowing yourself to enjoy these simple pleasures won’t put any huge burden on your schedule, but will certainly make an enormous difference to your happiness and enjoyment of life, so go ahead and do what you love!
