The Pleasure Box

A Pleasure Box - What is that? 

It's a box brim-full of guilty self-indulgence, providing motivation and inspiration that is hedonistic at its best, mildly enjoyable at its worst.

Inside you can place all the things that bring you pleasure. When you start sinking into the mud, it’ll be there full of ideas to take your mind away. You can pick out one of the idea and let it distract you. 

What is your pleasure?

We all find pleasure in different ways. Considering what brings you pleasure can be an enjoyable task in itself. So have a think and write a list. It might be worth considering these questions from the Experience Life website:  

1. What delighted you when you were younger?
2. When do you lose track of time?
3. What experiences do you long for?

Pleasure can be found in exploration, or discovery, in adventure and excitement, or just in variety or comfort. Here’s a rather large list of possibilities:

Now grab a blank piece of paper and write your own master list. Pick the activities that are pleasurable to you or those you’d like to try. Add any extra activities to your list that aren’t mentioned here.

Create your Box

When you’re through with your list of pleasures, separate each suggestion with some scissors so they form individual, small scraps of paper. Fold them up and buy or make yourself a beautiful Pleasure Box to place them inside. 

At the beginning of the week/month/day or when you are feeling low and need motivation or inspiration, take a suggestion. If it’s not appropriate to do that activity immediately, save it for later, and pick another one. Every time you discover something else pleasurable, or something else you want to try, add it to the box.

Jazzing things up helps you escape the mundane or routine. Sometimes, seeking the same pleasure day in, day out, we lose the thrill and lose the excitement. Pleasure starts to feel a chore. Seeking pleasure in different ways provides variety which itself can be more fulfilling.

And save your master list of pleasure to your phone, or on your laptop. Make sure you review it habitually: weekly, daily, hourly… as necessary. Maybe you’ll want to create a shorter list of Easy Pleasures: things that can be done with no planning, but that can turn your day around when you’re feeling muddy.