Why does the burst of happiness you get when your life improves rarely last -- whether you start eating heirloom tomatoes, get a promotion, or marry your true love? The answer is "hedonic adaptation," the phenomenon in which you quickly get used to better circumstances... (Psychology Today, Dec. '13)According to PT, there are four steps that you can take to help with hedonic adaptation: give it up (favorite food, activity), revisit your life without, take a break (TV shows, massage) and relish amateur status...
My upper body has been completely jammed (or jacked) up so I went to the library for the sole purpose of getting magazines for bubble bath reading. Hedonistic?
For the "unjamming" session, I chose the November 2013 issue of O: The Oprah Magazine. You know how people say it's never too late to do xyz? Well, Martha Beck explores the other side of the coin.
1). It's too late to get a completely different body.
2), It's too late to live without purpose.
3), It's too late to live on ego candy.
4). It's too late to turn toxic people into healthy ones.
5). It's too late to feel guilty about enjoying simple things.
Inspired by Beck, here's my weekend bucket list.
1). Watch a movie with The 'Fugee.
2). Sleep in on Saturday.
3). Ride my bicycle with Alison.
4). Do yoga.
5). Do yoga again.
6). Spend time with family.
7). Pet and play with Teddy.
8). Read
9). Walk
10). Play Running with Friends.
Beck starts her column by remembering a friend who refused to go out for three months while she attempted to reach a weight loss goal. After emerging, the friend died days later.
Self-acceptance can help you experience what Dr. Herbert Benson famously called the relaxation response. This is the state in which your body can calm down and heal. The alternative? More boring self-loathing, with its accompanying stress-related illnesses, compulsions, and addictions? We don't have time for that. (O...46)Hope you have time to work on a bucket list this weekend...
This weekend Hrodebert and I are looking for a beach house that takes cats, for a late-summer vacation. We've been talking about doing it for YEARS and every year there's some reason not to. So I guess that's on my bucket list :-)
ReplyDeleteYour planned weekend sounds PERFECT to me.
I did everything on my list and the weekend has been pretty special. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's cool that you're looking into cat-friendly beach houses.
I love it when I take care of something that I've been contemplating for a while. Good luck with your search.