Over the past few years I have lacked of fulfillment in my life. I have tried many projects that help a little but nothing that has really set me off. I am a problem solver and I decided to attack my lack of fulfillment at the root of the problem. I wrote down, to the best of my ability, all of the problems I was having. By the way, fleshing out thoughts through writing really helps you connect the dots on a problem where you cannot do it in your head.
One of my key problems is that many of my activities which could be labeled for fun or relaxation is either a form of escape or chasing something from the past.
To delve in to chasing something from the past more; we tend to look back at how things “used to be” and think times were better. In many cases they were but in most cases we naturally gloss over the negatives of the past and believe things were better when they were not.
What I have been trying to do, along with creating a pivot point in my day, is make sure any activity I do is based on something I want to do for enrichment or fun.
Here are some examples of things I identified which could be used as an escape:
- Sleeping
- Drinking alcohol (even a little bit)
- caffeine intake
- watching TV
These activities are not always an escape, and having a periodic escape is probably a good thing but doing it all of the time means there may be a deeper problem.
I have found by escaping less and chasing the past less I am having a more fulfilling time in my life.
What things would you consider an escape?
The similarities between us are pretty uncanny. I went through the exact same exercise, creating a “Joy List” of things that made me happy, only to discover it was either escapism or nostalgia-based. With time I ultimately came to the realization that the more time I spend in the right hemisphere of my brain, the more I reconnected with my happy, carefree side.
The funny thing is I am staring at my Nerf dart gun with 18 shot clip as I write this.