Three Secrets To LIfe

We do tend to complicate what is really a very simple recipe for happiness and fulfilment.

We over analyse, over complicate, over stress and I guess, seek to over please.

Is the never-ending chase we have embarked upon aimed at the real destination of our choosing, or is it a destination deemed necessary by others or by a demanding society?

I was reminded yesterday of the pressures to conform, or to do what we perceive is expected of us by a TV commercial advertising an alternative to beer. In short, a group of men confessed to not actually liking beer but believing they had to pretend. You may well know the add.   

An item came across my Instagram feed that was so simple to be useful. However, that does not mean it is also easy.

 The Instagram Post had 3 components.

1.       Find a hobby to make you money

This is perhaps the most challenging. A hobby by popular definition is something we inherently enjoy and look forward to doing.

We make our money via the work we do, the skills we sell and the services and goods we provide.

For one of more of these things to be deemed a Hobby, they would have to be something we look forward to, gleam satisfaction and pleasure from while also earning an income.

I have a friend from school who works in Commercial Real Estate and just loves it and always has. To him, it is a Hobby.

Interestingly, our attitude and health play a significant role in how we view our work and how much we enjoy it.

While making a career change to something that could be classified as a hobby, simply addressing items 2 and 3 below can make a huge difference to how we feel about our current work.

That aside, only you know if you are doing what you do to satisfy factors other than your own and if you are being authentic to yourself. If you are not, the solution is simple and singular.

2.       Find a hobby to keep you in shape

Many of us would like to be fitter, lighter, healthier and more energetic.

Further, on more than one occasion we have probably decided to become more active, to walk, run, swim, trek, gym or cycle. Many of us have then waivered when we find it a struggle or unenjoyable.

We also may find we have followed the current trend, or worse still, made a machine purchase having seen an info-commercial on TV.

Get back to basics. Start slow and build up. It may start with five laps of the local pool with a 2 minute rest between laps, 5 times a week.

Check out your nearest Parkrun. This is a great community event and very inclusive. It caters for all shapes and sizes, speeds and ages. Many walk with their dog or push a pram. It is also free.

It may become a hobby.

3.       Find a hobby to express your creativity

Write, read, paint, photograph, sketch, design, knot, weave, potter or print.

Having a creative outlet is very important.

The biggest barrier to starting, or re-commencing a creative pursuit is a fear of being critiqued. Our fear of what others expect of us comes through again.

How good we are doesn’t matter nearly as much as does having a creative outlet.

As with anything and everything, the biggest hurdle is the first step to starting.