Do More of What You Enjoy

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I couldn’t resist posing at the typical tourist spot by the Leaning Tower of Pisa

It’s inevitable that as we get older, we will attend more funerals. There’s nothing that reminds us of our own mortality like watching our friends and contemporaries succumb to illnesses or die of natural causes. One of my friends uses funerals to remind herself to keep busy enjoying her life. “Every time I return from a funeral,” she says, “I book another cruise.”

What do you enjoy?

You may not long for cruises, but surely there’s something you’ve always wanted to do. If you don’t do it now, when are you going to do it?

Maybe you’ve always wanted to pursue a certain hobby, write your life story, climb a mountain, travel by rail across the United States, or learn another language. The possibilities are endless.

But I can already hear your objections:

• I don’t have the money.
• I don’t like traveling alone.
• I don’t know anyone to go with me to [fill in the blank].
• I’m too old to [fill in the blank].
• I’m afraid to fly.
• I’m afraid to drive.
• I don’t like public transportation.

For just a moment, pretend that none of your objections exist. What would you love to do? Make a list. Since this is all imaginary, feel free to make your list as long as you want and make your wishes as elaborate as you can imagine!

What do you need to do?

Now look at your list and pick one wish and write all the things you would have to do to have that wish come true.

I’ll give you a personal example. I mentioned that one of my goals was to travel to Europe. What did I need to do?

• Get a passport.
• Choose a country.
• Look up airfares.
• Look up organized tours going to that country.
• Check out prices of tours.
• Select a tour.
• Investigate and rearrange my finances to see how I could comfortably afford the trip.
• Talk to people who have been where I want to go to get tips and advice.

What are the immediate things you can do?

Your next step is to make a list of each of the items on your list, and for each item identify what you need to do to accomplish your goal. For example, to get a passport I needed to find out:

• Where to get a passport
• The price of a passport
• The application process
• What else is involved.

By the time you get to this third tier of your list, you will see that there are things you can do today or tomorrow. For example, it takes only a few minutes to find out where to get a passport. If you have access to the Internet, you can find out all you need to know about passports (or anything else) very quickly. If you don’t have access to the Internet, your local library does. The librarian will be happy to help you find the information you need.

This is just the start, of course. But keep it up and your objections will begin to evaporate. Get busy, and start on your first list now!

And by all means, don’t wait for someone else to be ready.

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What do you enjoy? Have you delayed doing it? What is a small step you could take tomorrow? Share in the comments.

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This is an excerpt from Chapter 5, Taking Responsibility for Your Happiness in Color Your Life Happy: Create Your Unique Path and Claim the Joy You Deserve, 2nd edition. Visit https://coloryourlifehappy.com  to get updates on when the book is available at Amazon and other major booksellers. [/feature_box]