Self Exploration: Eat Artichokes, Read Kate Dicamillo, Take a Walk and Snuggle a Puppy

So, as you know from previous blog mentions, I’m reading Gretchen Rubin’s non-fiction narrative, The Happiness Project. In the book, one of the things that Gretchen does is take stock of what she finds fun and the things that she thinks she should find fun, but does not.

It inspired me to take stock of my own fun list. And my not-so-fun list. The fun list being things that energize me, make me happy, make me laugh, make me feel better. The not-so-fun list being things that make me less happy, more irritable, more exhausted and more reclusive.

Let’s start with the bad and end well, shall we?

Whereas sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do, that’s not always the case. Some of these things I’ve been forcing myself to do–and why? Aren’t there equally good–or even better–things, more fun things, more useful things I could be doing?

The Not-So-Fun List
Being outside in the Winter
Entertaining overnight guests (this one surprises me, because I used to find it fun. Now, I find it draining.)
Being on the phone when it isn’t entirely necessary (aka. if someone lives down the street, why are we phone chatting)
Late night parties (most of the time)
Shopping (most of the time)
Finishing a book that I don’t like
Staying out late
Drinking so much caffeine

The Fun List
Reading true stories & memoirs
Reading children’s literature
Being outside in the sunshine
Walking
Trying a new wine
Live acoustic music
Being near Luna
Reading my favorite books over again (I don’t do this often enough because I’m ridiculously driven to read more new books)
Sitting on patios or in coffee shops
Organizing things and throwing things out
Putting time and effort into my outfit in the morning
Listening (but only to interesting people)
Not having a set plan for my day
Entertaining for an evening
Eating artichokes
Taking the time to plan a meal, cook something nice, pair a wine, etc.
Publishing other people on my blog
Teaching something new

I’m noticing a theme or two here. The first being time. I value having the time to think about my outfit in the morning, to plan dinner, to cook dinner, to walk outside. And I dislike things that force me to spend over-much time on them: local phone conversations, for example.

The second theme, which ties into the first, is clutter. I love feeling that life is uncluttered: having days without a set plan, organizing my home (everything has a place), getting rid of things I don’t need. And I hate overnight guests and being forced to fuel myself on caffeine instead of taking a nap or a break.

Now, all of these things go out the window when I’m traveling. When I’m traveling, I’m happy to stay out late, wake up early and take long naps in the middle of the day in order to catch up. I’ll shop ’til I drop and go to late night parties. I’ll drink tons of caffeine, as long as it’s in the form of Irish tea or Italian cappuccino. And I’ll leave Luna luxuriating with a puppy friend or two, not near me at all.