My key goal this year is to see mild sustained progress. That applies to life in general – work, play, health, Covid. Hopefully, the year is better at the end than it was at the beginning.
Implicit in achieving that goal to me is the concept of improved psychic happiness. Find those things that bring you joy or a sense of accomplishment, and focus on them. Stay away from the bad guys and bad news. Get done what you can get done. See the friends that you really like.
This may sound weird (or else you may find you are like me and also appreciate this), but one activity I enjoy is vacuuming. That’s always been the case in general, but we have purchased an electric rechargeable, mobile lightweight vacuum cleaner. It dominates!
I zip around, sucking up dog and cat fur, pellets from the cat litter box that get tracked all over the damn place, and all those food particles that get dumped in the kitchen along with the various places that we consume our meals (not necessarily the dinner table).
Implicitly, what is it that brings me a sense of accomplishment after vacuuming? Why does it improve my outlook while I’m pushing the vacuum around and looking at the floor and rugs afterwards?
I think it has to do with creating a sense of order out of chaos. Rather than looking at the wood floor as the sun beams through our windows from the east, illuminating massive trails of fur and other debris, the vacuumed sections look clean and fresh after patrolling the area.
It reminds me of mowing grass, trimming bushes and raking leaves. One could argue all are “chores” or “tasks.” I don’t see them that way. Yes, they all have a degree of repetition to them, which could make them fall into the category of “work.”
But, they all also make things look better afterwards. They give a sense of order. You feel the accomplishment looking back and thinking about how the lawn, ground or floor looked earlier.
There is a lot to be said for that feeling. The world is right. You’ve finished something. It’s tangible. We often lack that in our work or personal lives. You can feel mired in the middle of nothing getting done.
Vacuumed helps give me improved psychic happiness. I’m not stuck “in the process.” Instead, you’re done, can slap your hands together and look back knowing you made something look better.
You can take the feeling and bottle it. The psychic improvement is not limited to vacuuming, mowing or trimming. You find it elsewhere, perhaps as a welder or an auto mechanic or cleaning hotel rooms. You repair an engine, tidy up a mess, make the table sparkle.
Afterwards, it feels good. And while you’re “in” the activity, there is a sense of meditation and relaxation. If you haven’t found that yet, you might need to work at changing your mindset.
I accomplished something today. I vacuumed. I feel better now.
Implicit in achieving that goal to me is the concept of improved psychic happiness. Find those things that bring you joy or a sense of accomplishment, and focus on them. Stay away from the bad guys and bad news. Get done what you can get done. See the friends that you really like.
This may sound weird (or else you may find you are like me and also appreciate this), but one activity I enjoy is vacuuming. That’s always been the case in general, but we have purchased an electric rechargeable, mobile lightweight vacuum cleaner. It dominates!
I zip around, sucking up dog and cat fur, pellets from the cat litter box that get tracked all over the damn place, and all those food particles that get dumped in the kitchen along with the various places that we consume our meals (not necessarily the dinner table).
Implicitly, what is it that brings me a sense of accomplishment after vacuuming? Why does it improve my outlook while I’m pushing the vacuum around and looking at the floor and rugs afterwards?
I think it has to do with creating a sense of order out of chaos. Rather than looking at the wood floor as the sun beams through our windows from the east, illuminating massive trails of fur and other debris, the vacuumed sections look clean and fresh after patrolling the area.
It reminds me of mowing grass, trimming bushes and raking leaves. One could argue all are “chores” or “tasks.” I don’t see them that way. Yes, they all have a degree of repetition to them, which could make them fall into the category of “work.”
But, they all also make things look better afterwards. They give a sense of order. You feel the accomplishment looking back and thinking about how the lawn, ground or floor looked earlier.
There is a lot to be said for that feeling. The world is right. You’ve finished something. It’s tangible. We often lack that in our work or personal lives. You can feel mired in the middle of nothing getting done.
Vacuumed helps give me improved psychic happiness. I’m not stuck “in the process.” Instead, you’re done, can slap your hands together and look back knowing you made something look better.
You can take the feeling and bottle it. The psychic improvement is not limited to vacuuming, mowing or trimming. You find it elsewhere, perhaps as a welder or an auto mechanic or cleaning hotel rooms. You repair an engine, tidy up a mess, make the table sparkle.
Afterwards, it feels good. And while you’re “in” the activity, there is a sense of meditation and relaxation. If you haven’t found that yet, you might need to work at changing your mindset.
I accomplished something today. I vacuumed. I feel better now.