How to Enjoy Life
October 11th, 2007 by Peter Clemens
In The Magic of Starting Small, I made the point that it is your days that define your life. In this article, I want to challenge the common perception that it is only possible to enjoy your leisure time. In particular, this article is targeted at the professional stuck in the 9 to 5 grind who longs for the weekend and, in the process, has given up on trying to find pleasure in the ordinary experiences we have every day.
1. Appreciate Beauty. Each day we come across beauty in a number of shapes and forms. It’s a shame, then, that many people have become so accustomed to this beauty that it largely goes unappreciated. I suggest looking again at the people, plants, gadgets, and buildings (to name but a few examples) around you and taking a moment to appreciate what makes them so special.
2. Connect With Nature. Nature is an amazing healer for the stresses and strains of modern life. Eating lunch in the park, attending to a vegetable garden in your backyard, or watching the sunset are just a few simple ideas for how you can enjoy the outdoors on a daily basis.
3. Laugh. E. E. Cummings once said “the most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” How very true. Never be too busy to laugh, or too serious to smile. Instead, surround yourself with fun people and don’t get caught up in your own sense of importance.
4. Have Simple Pleasures. A good cup of coffee when I first wake. Time spent playing with my 8 month old son. Cooking a nice meal in the evening. These may not seem terribly exciting, but they are some of the simple pleasures I enjoy in life. If you slow down for just a moment and take the time to appreciate these ordinary events, life becomes instantly more enjoyable.
5. Connect With People. In so many ways, it is our relationships with people that give us the most happiness in life. Perhaps, then, the best way to enjoy your work more is not to get a raise or a promotion, but rather to build rewarding relationships with your co-workers.
6. Learn. There is a strong link between learning and happiness. Given this, there is no excuse not to be stimulating your brain and learning something new each day. My favorite way to find time for learning is to make the most of the commute to and from work. Audiobooks and podcasts are great for this purpose.
7. Rethink Your Mornings and Evenings. Are the mornings a mad rush for you to get out the door? Do you switch off the TV at night and go straight to bed? I have personally experienced the profound benefits of establishing a routine in the morning and evening. For example, in the morning you may choose to wake an hour earlier and spend the time working on yourself, whether it be reading, writing or exercising. In the evening, consider spending some time just before bed reviewing your day or in meditation.
8. Celebrate Your Successes. During a normal day we are sure to have some minor successes. Perhaps you have successfully dealt with a difficult customer, made a sale, or received a nice compliment for your work. These aren’t events worth throwing a party for, but why not take a moment to celebrate your success? Share the experience with someone else, reward yourself with a nice lunch, or just give yourself a mental pat on the back.
Peter writes about how to enjoy life at The Change Blog.
So after 4 nights nonstop life purpose discussion, you finally left. Thank you "Cave Man" for called me and told me if you have the good memories in China is all because the good time you had in Beijing. Seriously, in the beginning, your just some random person came to my life by my good friend sent you from Montreal, it ended up everything worked so well between us.
These days and nights, we were talking nonstop about family, relationship, life goal, etc. for at least 20hrs, especially the last night we missed the last metro, and walked to the bus stop but still missed the bus and was talking all the time at the bus stop. It seems like we dun want to end up our conversation cuz then we will probably not gonna see each other again after this goodbye. So we ended up at your place but nothing seriously happened. We stayed up talking till 530am in the morning and we slept. We kissed, you hugged me and touch me and my hair... and --> And we had breakfast and you walked me to the Metro station. "If you come to Montreal or Quebec, give me a call!!" And... So Long!
A bit weird, yes! Feels a bit weird, like we just worked so well together. Ahh..
Around 5pm, you called and told me thanks me for everything, and you were being so polite.
You should,
the last call from you.
And we are done.
So that's life,
At least we all had a good memories together.
*naf Do says: (4:10:57 PM)
你現在中文有大陸腔嗎
*naf Do says: (4:11:00 PM)
上次聽是沒有
Jennyfer.L says: (4:11:01 PM)
我說對啊∼去哪去哪
*naf Do says: (4:11:01 PM)
呵呵
Jennyfer.L says: (4:11:03 PM)
哈
Jennyfer.L says: (4:11:06 PM)
應該看人說吧
Jennyfer.L says: (4:11:21 PM)
如果跟這裡的人說就會說有腔
Jennyfer.L says: (4:11:28 PM)
跟台灣人說就台灣腔
Jennyfer.L says: (4:11:35 PM)
跟外人說就外國腔
Jennyfer.L says: (4:11:40 PM)
我也不知道....我很奇怪
Jennyfer.L says: (4:12:03 PM)
我跟大陸人說話 他們說我是台灣
Jennyfer.L says: (4:12:15 PM)
我跟我台灣朋友說話他們說我說北京腔
Jennyfer.L says: (4:12:26 PM)
我跟我英國佬板說話他說我是美國人
Jennyfer.L says: (4:12:36 PM)
我跟我在美國叔叔講話他說我有英國腔
Jennyfer.L says: (4:12:47 PM)
:|
Jennyfer.L says: (4:13:01 PM)
喔∼還有人說我是普通話說得很好的韓國人
*naf Do says: (4:14:07 PM)
你有因為這樣迷失自己嗎
Jennyfer.L says: (4:15:52 PM)
我覺得我是30%chinese..20%american...15%european 15%Latino 10%japanese 10%不詳
Jennyfer.L says: (4:16:17 PM)
我也不知道我是哪裡 有點迷失
*naf Do says: (4:17:20 PM)
忘記國籍
*naf Do says: (4:17:23 PM)
會更自由
Jennyfer.L says: (4:17:29 PM)
阿哈哈
Jennyfer.L says: (4:17:43 PM)
我才不會忘記
Jennyfer.L says: (4:17:47 PM)
只是我沒有被束縛
*naf Do says: (4:19:12 PM)
嗯
*naf Do says: (4:19:14 PM)
那就好
*naf Do says: (4:19:24 PM)
定義是xx人還是yy人
*naf Do says: (4:19:33 PM)
很煩，也不見得有意義
Jennyfer.L says: (4:24:11 PM)
恩恩
Jennyfer.L says: (4:24:16 PM)
我是火星人
*naf Do says: (4:24:40 PM)
希望地球還有來自火星的男人
*naf Do says: (4:24:43 PM)
不然你就寂寞了
Jennyfer.L says: (4:25:21 PM)
你這話真實在
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