the things that bring joy are to love and to work, perhaps. starting with that theory, something to work on becomes something that you do because the reward of the energy.
something that resonates with yourself.
things that resonate with yourself. what is that? people talk vaguely about passion, purpose, living well.
i think it has to do with moving towards another version of yourself? i would call it another expression of yourself.
consider having joy in your life. consider being surrounded by friends / people that love you. that you can joke around with. that make you laugh. that you trust, and who you know will be there for you. people who build you up. you do not have no stress, but the ability to meet and excel at engaging challenges. it is about here that people say...ugh...that sounds exhausting.
i think so too.
but i have seen glimpses and experienced for myself those moments when it is not. and when you experience those moments, well, it is like coming alive all over. haven't read the book, but 'flow' comes to mind. in any case, it is something you want to feel again. i mean all the time if you can. it is what, i think, the energy and desire of addiction is actually trying to achieve.
i have this theory that for your men, at some stage, they want to assert their masculinity. one of the best ways to do that is through exercise. your body wants to exercise, to push, and by giving it, you feel like really living. but, sometimes you stay home and watch action movies instead. you have that energy and it is up to you to put those habits and systems into play.
then use money and energy and effort resources to build the sustainability of those systems.
C.S. Lewis talks about stumbling on happiness. i think that is what he is talking about as well, i am only part way through the book.
K'naan stated in an interview that he did not smoke weed or take other mind altering substances. When asked why, he replied that he had such a good state going on mentally that he could not see how disrupting that could be an improvement.
I had a classmate (more than a few actually) who genuinely enjoyed, the difficult projects she worked on. I had seen it erupt in different people at different times. It was a strong, positive, and engaging energy. I've spent the past 10 years figuring around that topic for myself and I guess part of starting this blog is helping congeal and codify my system for myself. In hopes that it helps other people as well.