you know what?
i really cannot be bothered to watch most regular television or movies anymore.
i will be taking a break and watch nature documentaries or educational materials or christian tv or high quality films that have something important to say — but rarely the other 98% of pop-culture noise that is out there.
sometimes, people see me watching this stuff during my “time off” and they think i am like some kind of odd dude who just cannot relax.
like, i will have just finished a massive work project and people see me reading some supposedly “heavy” book and say: “Dude relax, enjoy your victory here, look at what you’ve just accomplished…”
but the thing is this . . .
the implicit assumption here is that doing things that are counter-productive ARE more fun than doing things that are GOOD for you.
social conditioning dictates that “sugar-satured food is more TASTY” and “mindless entertainment is more EXCITING” — but that is really just a matter of other people’s opinions.
i really believe that whenever you finish a big project, you have to give yourself a kickass reward to keep associating positive emotions to all the great work that you are doing.
at the same time though, all my life, i have played this game in my head that to reward myself, i have to “get the dessert” or “go out and do something pointless” — and really, that is just pure social conditioning speaking and not my own views.
the fact that we all know is this:
emotional states are addictive and the more often we access an emotional state, the more synaptic pathways are laid down in order to access that state again and again.
this also goes for what we enjoy eating, what we find entertaining, etc, etc.
what we think is “fun” is really just what we have (oftentimes inadvertently) ADDICTED ourselves to — throughout the course of our day to day habits and routines.
why do most people find that garbage food tastes so good?
because big companies have marketed it heavily (it is way cheaper to produce and easier to preserve than proper food) and they are addicted to it.
what about all of the mindless entertainment?
people respond to it because all their lives it is what they have been weaned on — and so their brains have become so accustomed to never-ending stimulation that they no longer experience any endorphins from going deeper and staying focused for longer periods of time.
this is a powerful and liberating understanding, because it means that we can always proactively choose to RE-ADDICT ourselves towards something more positive and uplifting.
and even cooler, is that your life actually winds up becoming MORE FUN.
i mean, REAL FUN should leave you feeling recharged and energized — not hollow or like you just screwed up.
getting out into nature, working out, playing sports, getting a massage, travelling to new places, reading great books, meeting new people, laughing with friends, making a difference — all this stuff is actually MORE FUN and it is also INSANELY HEALTHY.
i have got to keep reminding myself of this, again and again, until it finally sinks in.
Posted by celiverity 
Posted by celiverity 
Posted by celiverity 