For this last post, I’m going to share what I think is
the most intriguing part of my book—a section on finding fun. This part of the book was all about figuring
things that you find fun and then
actually getting out in the world and doing them (Rubin 115). The section
includes thought-provoking quotes like, “I love the idea of playing chess,
getting a pedicure, or having a subscription to the opera or season tickets to
the Knicks. I can see exactly why other people enjoy these activities. I wish I
enjoyed them. But I don’t” (Rubin 116) and, “Why worry about jazz clubs when
you really wanted to design your own book cover? Be yourself” (Rubin 126).
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| Here's a lovely picture of my friends ice-skating (notice that I'm not in it). |
After reading this, I realized that a lot of the things
I do don’t actually make me happy. I do some things because I have to or
because other people find them fun, not because I actually enjoy them. The
first thing that came to my mind was ice-skating. I’ve gone a few times, and
strongly disliked every minute of it. I hate being cold and I have terrible
balance so I spend most of the time on my butt. While I thought Blades of Glory was hilarious and many
of my friends like to ice-skate, it’s just not my thing.
On the other hand, I love going to hockey games. I love
the food, the fights, and the fact that they play the American national anthem and the Canadian national anthem at most
games. Also, it’s also not as cold as ice-skating because there are more people
around. Sadly, I rarely ever go to hockey games simply because football and
baseball are more popular within my family. For the rest of the winter, I’m
vowing to do less ice-skating and more hockey-watching. I know for sure that
it’ll make me happier.
Well, this is the end of my last blog post (probably
forever). It’s been an interesting experience and while I don’t particularly
enjoy blogging, I think blogging has been a helpful way to track and share my
progress of being happy as I read and test things from The Happiness Project. Since they have worked so well for me, I will keep the things I have learned about
being happy in my mind for a long time.
So, do you often find yourself doing things you don't actually
enjoy or things you feel obligated to do?
Citation: Rubin, Gretchen. The Happiness Project. New York: Harper Collins, 2010. Print.
yes. Once, I went to my friend's house and we watched the Seahawks game together... Even though I am not interested, it was fun and I enjoyed...
ReplyDeleteWhat else do you like to do other than watch hockey games??
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Alexandria. It's true that doing something you don't think you like can end up being fun, but not always. To address your other question, I enjoy doing a lot of things! I like to hang out with friends and family, run, listen to music, read, doodle, watch football (Go Seahawks!), play with my dogs, and many more things. Watching hockey games is just one specific thing that I like to do.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool/ helpful blog! I will definitely take your advise. I agree with everything you said, it's so true that we often do what others enjoy doing because they like it but it doesn't make us happy. Thank you :)
ReplyDelete