What Do You Enjoy?

A few weeks ago it was raining on a Sunday morning and we took our kids to see a movie and then to brunch. When the waiter came around and asked if I wanted anything to drink, he said something like, “yes, you earned this!”

This is not the first time I have heard something along those lines and perhaps I even said it myself in the past, but this time it really made me cringe. I don’t want to carry that false belief that I need to earn, work hard for or deserve something enjoyable.

There is a major misconception in our society that play comes after work and that enjoyment must be earned.

It goes against my inner knowing that I am enough, that I am the way I am for a reason and that I don’t need to prove my worth to anyone but see it for myself. It reminds me that the belief in doing, pushing and proving is what has led to unhappiness and suffering.

This notion is hard for many to understand because since childhood there has been the belief that we must earn our love and safety by doing and being good. However, on the plus side, there is a huge gift in this confusion.

The gift in this misconception is that you get to find out for yourself that it is a big lie and that is well worth the journey!

Sometimes we learn this lesson by working hard and getting to the top only to realize that it did nothing to change our internal feeling of unhappiness

and…

Sometimes we get there by losing everything we earned and seeing that interestingly enough, everything was still more than okay and things somehow worked out.

The path to getting there won’t matter in the end, the path is not about the path but about realizing the truth about yourself. And doing something you enjoy and love will take you there faster than you can imagine.

The key here is to do something you enjoy and love for the sake of the experience rather than for an accolade.

Do it for YOU even if it makes no sense and there is no reason for it, even if your head noise is going on and on about how undeserving you are! But do it with pure joy of it.

Many people struggle to remember what they love or do not allow themselves do it for a number of excuses. If you are in this boat, try to remember what you enjoyed in your childhood and be willing to explore new things.

If you do know what it is you enjoy, begin to do it as often as you can. Block off time in your calendar and show up for yourself!

Questions to Consider:

  1. What do I love to do?
  2. How often do I let myself enjoy?
  3. Where can I give myself permission to enjoy without a reason?

With love and light,
Orly