Tuesday, March 3, 1998

Pleasure

Pleasure, by its very definition, is enjoyable. We are naturally attracted to pleasure -- strongly attracted -- and will often surmount great obstacles in order to attain it.

Yet what is pleasure? All sorts of people find all sorts of different pleasures in a wide range of activities and situations. What one person considers to be the height of pleasure, another person will detest. Our pleasures vary from season to season, or depending on the time of day, our environment, or the people around us.

Pleasure is highly subjective. And though you cannot help but be attracted to it, you can control what you consider to be pleasure. The desire for pleasure is a powerful motivator. You can make the best use of that motivator by selecting pleasures which lead to your goals.

Pleasure is a matter of conditioning. No one who smokes their first cigarette would consider it to be pleasurable. Yet millions of people have conditioned themselves to get pleasure from smoking. No overweight, out-of-shape person would find pleasure in jogging around the block. Yet millions of avid joggers achieve a “runner’s high” each day from exactly the same activity.

Do the things that please you, also serve you? If so, you’ll be pleasantly motivated toward a life of fulfillment.

— Ralph Marston

How many times? What do you carry? next

Copyright ©1998 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.