Day 161
One life is certainly not enough to do everything I would like to do. That is why I really need to believe in reincarnation. Whatever I don't have time to do in this lifetime... I can postpone to my next life.
Very often I have a list of things I would like to accomplish and do in my day. A mental list of course because, as I have written in a previous post (procrastination), I am a procrastinator, and procrastinators tend to slightly be allergic to written to-do lists.
At the beginning of the day, once I have mentally listed all the things I would like to do, I need to determine which of those things I should prioritize:
- Should I clean up my house or go to the gym?
- Should I play with my children or prepare some meals in advance so I don't rush so much during weekdays?
- Should I go to the movies or do the laundry?
From a strictly hedonic, pleasurable standpoint, the choice is often obvious. However, if I start feeling like I'm living in a pigsty, I'll end up miserable. So really, what is at stake here is long-term well-being versus short-term pleasure; want-tos versus have-tos.
I believe every day should be a balance between activities that you have to do (those activities that don't provide you with immediate gratification) and activities you enjoy doing. If you only live in the world of obligations, you could become irritated and in a bad mood. Inversely, if you are always on the mode of immediate gratification, you could very well end up living in chaos, with things around you slowly crumbling down.
Adding a little spice in every day does not require much effort, only will. And it doesn't need to take that much time. Sometimes, before my kids go to bed, I'll play a little board game with them... it often only takes 15 minutes and we all feel so happy to have done it. Or, I'll put on some dance music and start singing and dancing with my kids and husband for the duration of the song.
The thing is, I could have an endless to-do list. So, if I don't willingly decide to stop and enjoy my life by doing things that provide me with instant happiness (excluding drugs, of course), I could very well end up wasting it trying to finish a to-do list that really has no end.
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