Inspiring Ways of Giving Yourself Pleasure

Why do so many successful men leave giving pleasure to themselves in the last place of their priorities?

Giving pleasure can be immaterial

Many people are thankful despite many affairs of the world going downhill and economies that could flourish much more. Redundancies that one doesn't expect, problems with money, or a desire to spend more time with the people whom we love are a reality check. A wakeup call that urges to reevaluate how we define wealth and prosperity.  People focus more on satisfaction with the quality of life than on satisfaction from consumption.  The big shift is in questioning whether the ways in which we spend time give more satisfaction than things that need to be done on autopilot. More money doesn't always lead to more happiness. So many people look for ways to realign with other values that matter and align with giving pleasure to them.

Giving pleasure is to individual taste

Giving pleasure can mean starting a business that allows more flexibility even if it earns less money. Money is here today gone tomorrow, life experiences stay with us.  Friendships have ended because people's coaches said "that's not the right circle to be in". Many people who have received similar advice focused on building wealth don't want this advice now.  Some people will always want to accumulate material wealth. And more and more others focus on building wealth of experiences.

Redefining wealth and prosperity can also mean shifting careers down. After almost losing their children and spouses some professionals trade high-flying careers for simpler jobs.  The most ambitious ones are happy with their decisions, but still sometimes find maintaining balance difficult. They are very driven and putting the families first is a constant effort.  The simpler job doesn't pay as much as the previous career, but these people appreciate more time and holidays with their close ones.  Although these high-flyers' former professions required frequent traveling to nice hotels,  they never had time to enjoy them.

Giving pleasure in material

Some people have also scaled back on holiday gifts.  Their children get one gift from the parents, one from Santa, and a few from other family members.  These people see their friends go crazy with gifts for the kids and believe that this approach just feeds materialism and entitlement.  These parents want to model generosity and selflessness to their children. So they put money into good causes for their communities instead of buying gifts that would likely gather dust.

Some givers choose donations instead of presents, others buy experiential gifts. This option has grown in popularity. Taking a family member out for lunch, a friend to a movie, or calling me to give a massage to a spouse or relative are good examples.  People give more time-based gifts and make gifts. From the viewpoint of time this is one of the best gifts that someone can give, because it shows that the giver cares about the receiver.

A friend made me this series of 3-dimensional wooden symbols by hand over 30 hours a piece over several years.  Would he go to this extent if he didn't care about me?  Many other friends have given me gifts of experiences: a lunch, day at the spa, weekend away, show, etc. Others gave me gifts of food, jewellery, and many other things. Artistic friends gave me cards with poems or verses which they wrote. The poems and verses were symbolic of my personality or connected to my life.

Giving pleasure to yourself is important too!

Giving pleasure to ourselves reminds us of why we work and that we're here to enjoy life. It motivates us and brings sparkles into life. It gives us things to look forward to. And that's important. So once you've sorted gifts out for everyone else, let it be your turn to treat yourself for hard work, being a good citizen, or whatever you achieved.  Would a gift to yourself of a few hours of inspiring, relaxing experience, and caring company be right? Or perhaps even an aromatherapeutic relaxing massage treatment to perk you up? Or even good coaching on a demon that has hampered you for years? If yes, I invite you to be my receiver!

By Kay The Light Bringer To The World 

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