“The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin
May - Leisure
May is all about taking the time to have fun even for just a moment and take time for yourself to do thing that you enjoy. It is about having the free time to do whatever you want to do. This was a good chapter, I really enjoyed it.
One way is to find more fun. This is about figuring out what you like to do for fun. It should not be what other people find fun. In the book, Rubin asks for advice on her blog and realizes that even though the activities that other people do are indeed fun, that does not mean that it particular fits into her idea of fun. And that is okay, everyone is different and people enjoy different things. Some people even struggled to know for sure what they find fun because they do what others expect them to enjoy. That is fine, but they need to sit down and really do something that they enjoy and that they genuinely feel happy doing without worrying about some kind of reward or recognition. I enjoy playing video games, especially with friends. I love to play party games and multiplayer games so that everyone can join in. I also enjoy sleeping, even though that does not seems like an actual activity, I enjoy when I dream. And I also love to craft and make things with my hand. I give them as gifts to people once I finish if I do not have a place to put them but making them is the fun part.
Second is to take the time to be silly. My friends and I already tend to do this a lot. We love to joke and do weird things when we hang out that it just feels like a great way to have fun. We are silly with each other because we have a safe, no judgement kind of place where we can be who we are. I am sure a lot of people are like this and I am glad that we live in a place where it is not very judgmental.
Going off the path leads to exciting adventures. I have to admit that I was not able to complete this, but I do this every once in a while, with good company when I have time. When friends or family that are out-of-state come back to visit, we try to do things we never did before so that they have something to remember until next time. We go hiking or go on a road trip somewhere we have not been or eat at a different restaurant. It is a great way to keep things fresh and have new memories.
Lastly, start a collection. There are a lot of things that people collect. Some like to collect for completing a set and then there are others who just have the desire to have them. I am the second one as I collect a couple of things and I would like to have more. The pictures below show I have tsum tsums, which are a kind of Disney plush in various sizes. These are the small ones that I have shown but I also have a big pillow sized Stitch, from the Disney movie “Lilo and Stitch.” And the other picture is of my amiibos, and they are collectible figures that you can use on certain Nintendo games to help you through the game or just to unlock cool items. I do not really use them, I just like having the characters I like because I think they are cool.
