Be aware we live in a pain-oriented society.
What does that mean? Pain oriented?
Well, think about how much people love to complain. You can start a conversation with a total stranger about how the bad the economy is, how miserable the weather is, how painful your back is, and the conversation can go on and on, as you continue comparing how hard things are.
Talking about the problems in the world is a daily occurrence.
Compare that to discussing how great everything is. If you start chatting about how fantastic life is, the enthusiasm will not last very long.
You can complain about anything and nobody bats an eye. In fact, they jump right in and start talking about all the misery in their lives. But try to talk about good things, and no one wants to hear them.
This happens at work too. We regularly get time off for illness, flat tires, and deaths in the family. But imagine calling up your workplace and saying, “It’s such beautiful weather today today, I’m going sailing so I won’t be coming in today.” Most likely you would not be going back to that job.
We are not rewarded for going for pleasure. We are often penalized for it, because we live in a pain-oriented society. No wonder the “pleasure muscles” in our lives are so weak.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
Living your life according to what brings you pleasure takes practice.
Practice breaking the habit of dwelling on complaints, and start paying attention to what pleasures you.
It’s a challenge to change habits. It’s takes a new kind of consciousness.
There are many ways to get started. Meditate, go for walks, pamper yourself and listen deeply to what your intuition tells you.
When you look in the mirror, notice the things you like about yourself. Be specific and maybe start by describing each feature you like out loud. “I like that curl in my hair, my crooked smile, my collarbones, the color of my skin,” etc.
As one of my favorite quotes says: “If you live your life in pursuit of success, pleasure is 50-50. If you live your life in pursuit of pleasure, success is guaranteed!”
Right now, think about the things you are already doing to create pleasure in your life. Please share them below!