What Makes you Happy?

What makes me happiest is connecting with real, authentic people. People who aren't afraid to show their emotions or who need to put on some sort of facade in order to impress others. They're pretty rare where I'm from and its always a refreshing pleasure to meet them.

If not that, then listening to music that is aesthetically beautiful, life-affirming and positive and movies and actors that are authentic to reality.

Anything that touches my heart.

 

Drinking, and playing video games. But drinking is... my main entertainment. I just don't care if I die from it. I don't care about people, they're stupid, shallow and ughh so boring! But drinking makes me feel I live in my own world, it makes me so happy and all my problems are gone.

 

There's things that I get pleasure out of, and things that make me happy, and they're not always the same.

Since my mid-twenties - I'm now into my sixties - I learned that pretty hard exercise has strong beneficial effects. I used to run 6-8 k pretty regularly right up until my late 50's. Always helped with regulating emotions and burning off excess energy. Don't run much any more but still ride a bike and work out three times a week. Also into sitting meditation half an hour every morning. If you stay with that, it brings benefits. So - exercise and meditation, they have been key.

 

Thinking about the future, artwork, photography.

~SS

 

out and about, adventuring with my camera.

 

A walk in a peaceful green garden with the afternoon sun is what makes me happy! Even studying makes me happy. Things that require to use my brains and not doing some mechanical work makes me happy!

 

What makes me happy is working at being the best version of myself. Setting goals and working on them brings me so much pleasure sometimes, I feel like I can explode (the PMO free kind of explosion...LoL). Outside of that, stimulating conversations with individuals who understand the dangers of taking life for granted, is another one of my favorite past-times.

 

My wife and kids. At some times I feel truly blessed. (And not so much other times ) Achieving goals, actually doing real stuff. Reading and learning new things. I seem to have an unstoppable curiosity. Wikipedia is a good place to waste time instead of PMO'ing.

But for more casual answer: Pretty much anything "nerdy", and in particular everything related to cars or computers. I try to not spend so much time on the computer these days to avoid PMO temptations. Cars are still fun though. I'm looking for a new project, but money and time doesn't really allow it right now. Eventually I'd like to get a Porsche Boxster or something.

Any car guys here?

 

Working out and my dog - I always feel better after working out or playing with my dog.

I just want to comment on this. The future, to me, seems bleak in certain aspects and is cause for concern.

 

The ocean, the beach, and the breeze. It's my zen.

Believe it or not for now - cold showers - it's a micro-pleasure scenario which I use to keep conditioning myself to thrive in an uncomfortable situation.

Hearing progress and successes from friends. Hanging out with friends.

Playing soccer with my dad and brother.

Sharing mundane convos like making fun of song lyrics with family members, and not having serious sermonic convos all the time.

Babies - babies are the shit.

Meeting "authentic" people as Crytifly said. It inspires me, gives me hope as well.

programming... I at this point can't say it makes me "happy". However after completing some tutorials or making some things I do smile in knowing that I can do it. And it's rewardinf that I am closer to my goal of knowing certain things which I've procrastinated forever lol!

You know it's funny. 180 days ago when I used to PMO on the daily, or whatever it says on the counter, I wouldn't have known how to answer this question.

I would have given you a shpeel of progress making me happy and keeping up my goals, but those basically keep my mind and body content at bay and from despair and Insanity. I keep at it wether happy/sad/crying/joyful.

Or I would have lied and told you that girlfriends do, when in reality they only have kept me content.

But now 180 days later I know for certain what makes me happy. And that's pretty cool I guess.

 

Spending time with my GF, music, drawing, gaming, playing with my dog, hiking, drumming, sleeping, eating, cooking