Despite what the news and current events often highlight, we live in a world full of abundance and beauty. There is goodness all around us, if we choose to see it.
We are meant to enjoy the abundance and beauty that surrounds us. We are meant to experience pleasure.
Life is made up of real pleasures as well as false or counterfeit pleasures.
We have to be careful not to confuse the two.
Real pleasures lead us closer to who we are meant to be, to our greatest potential and highest spiritual purpose.
False pleasures look and feel like real pleasures, but they aren’t.
How can you tell the difference?
How do you feel afterwards?
If you feel unfulfilled, unsatisfied, still “hungry” so to speak, then that was a false pleasure. These kinds of pleasures leave you feeling empty and hollow.
Real pleasures are hard. They challenge us and involve effort and sacrifice. They require commitment and consistency. They force us to grow and evolve. They are all the things that we struggle with.
If you ask the average person what their greatest pleasure in life is, they will tell you it’s their children.
Ask those same people what their greatest struggle in life is. Same answer.
Ask the average adult what their greatest pleasure in life is. They will tell you it’s their children.
Ask the same person what their greatest struggle is – same answer.
Mindful Doc Mom
Love. Kids. Relationships. All real pleasures. NOT EASY.
Every pleasure has an associated counterfeit pleasure.
What is the counterfeit of love?
It’s infatuation. It looks and feels like love, but it’s empty and hollow. It doesn’t last. It’s not enduring. It doesn’t require anything of you and doesn’t bring you closer to who you are meant to be.
Our most basic of pleasures involve physical and material pleasures which includes food.
Food is pleasure. To nourish your body in a way that gives you energy and strength and fills you up and keeps you healthy and has aroma and flavor and substance and texture … that is real pleasure.
What is the counterfeit pleasure of food and other physical and material pleasures?
It’s too much of a good thing. Overeat that food repeatedly and you are left bloated and uncomfortable and sick and guilty and overweight.
What kind of pleasure is that?
What appears to be pleasure in the moment (and DOES actually feel good as you get that dopamine hit when you partake in the false pleasure) ends up leaving you with long-term pain.
We trade our long-term real pleasure for short-term counterfeit pleasures because they are easy and comfortable and accessible and fun. They require no commitment or sacrifice and they feel really good.
By definition, the things in your life that are hard, that require effort and commitment and sacrifice – those are the real pleasures.
By definition, the things in your life that are hard, that require effort and commitment and sacrifice – those are the real pleasures.
Mindful Doc Mom
It’s those real pleasures that you want to identify and move towards.
When you recognize false pleasure, know it for what it is.
Real pleasure exists outside your comfort zone.
False pleasure is right there in the center.
Real pleasure leads to fulfillment and realization of one’s true potential, to greatness.
False pleasure keeps you where you are, mediocre at best.
Next time you are faced with a choice where pleasure is involved, ask yourself if this is real pleasure or is it masquerading as something real, but actually a false pleasure that will leave you empty instead of fulfilled?
Your answer may give you pause.
Want to get coached to get more insight into your own mind and motivations? Want someone to help you reach your full potential? Coaching can help you live your life on purpose and move closer to who you are meant to be. Schedule a free mini session with me to explore this more at the link below.
