Well another year gone and where did it go? This is the time of year when stop to catch our breath and often look back to see what we did with our time, what major events occurred, what challenges we met and how we met them, plus do a quick glimpse at what the next year might hold.
For my final comment for 2014 I feel compelled to revisit the concept of pleasure versus purpose orientations that Chris Skellett so cleverly defines.
In this last week, I have had the personal task of moving to a new house. (I still believe that moving is like childbirth and we only go back again as our minds have cleverly wiped the painful memories, thus allowing the human race to continue and the Government to collect revenue from stamp duty!) But back to the point. I woke to my new home and reveled in the amount of positive emotions I was experiencing in its comfort, location, outlook, size etc. and started to feel worried that this feeling might be temporary and quickly fade into complacency.
I recognised that this was the “pleasure” aspect of Skellett’s theory and how some people seek it out more than others. I then shifted my thinking to how much work there was still to do on the house and how much I was looking forward to the planning, designing and even the labour involved, and recognised that this was of course the balancing side of “purpose” that made “pleasure” easier to accept!
It really struck me then asked myself whether it was wrong to have to always balance out the two drives and realised that for me personally, the answer was probably yes, and that if I had a tendency to lean towards one more than the other, it would be towards purpose. Of course this can have a dark side when we forget how to unwind and forge on, intent on accomplishment without taking the time to stop and savour the moment.
I believe that moving to our new home has given me the gift of more opportunities to experience pleasure in terms of connection with nature, beautiful places to sit, and a relaxing environment and my aim will be to take full advantage of this privilege in coming months.
At the end of the day, the equation is easy to see:
Pleasure + Purpose = Life Satisfaction (wellbeing)
And that’s what Wellness Coaching is all about. How balanced is your equation?
