What are some good alternative pleasures? Avoiding all forms of instant gratification

Every social media, many types of video games, and P, and anything else which also gives us that instant gratification, we should avoid them all, because they are more or less mental drugs.

I recently came across an article in my language, it was so inspiring to me that I've briefly translated a part of it's ideas here so I can share to many others. https://cellpedition.home.blog/2019/03/16/the-pleasure-you-seek-determines-your-life/

Basically, why do some people seek pleasure and rise, yet many others seek pleasure and fall? To get to the point, it suggested 3 principles to at least follow in life if you want to seek happiness without destroying yourself.

1. Try interests that build you instead of interests that consume you.
Interests that build you might be small, but every time you do them, you will get more and more pleasure out of it, and this pleasure will last you for the whole day. This could be writing, meditating or jogging. Lets take jogging as an example. At the start it could be very hard, but every time you do it, it becomes easier and easier, and yet you get more and more pleasure out of it. Maybe you will lose the belly, then you will get a clearer mind, and then get the sensitivity to the world around you.
Interests that build you don’t just simply give you a laugh.

2. Don’t rely too much on your instincts.
The people who live on their instincts, are easy to pleasure, because their threshold to happiness is too low. Often, even just a little pleasure will suck them in. And the people who are more like this, are more inclined to seek pleasure based on their 5 senses. It could be from eating heavily sweetened or salted oily junk food. It could be from looking at pornographic videos. Or it could be the high from an inhale of drugs. Relying on instincts often draws out the beast inside us. The worst part is if the beast is constantly fed full, it would grow so strong that it no longer can be suppressed.

3. Don’t expect to solve everything with a one time effort.
Happiness = reality – expectation
When the reality is harsh and the expectation is high, it is very easy to feel unhappy. Just like winning the lottery, the higher your expectations, the less happy you are with the prize you get. If you place all your hopes on one interest to alleviate your messed up life, the easier it is to feel disappointed.
So whatever you pursue, don’t give it too high of an expectation.


What are some good alternative pleasures?
So I've been thinking to myself what interests and hobbies to pursue that will build me. So far I've thought of these things

• Exercise - Jogging, body building, yoga, etc
• Writing and reading
• Building something useful
• Meditation