Well being comes from a life where we are able to feel and experience all the emotions without buffering and find life to be enough and fulfilling. It doesn’t mean we don’t strive for more. We are content in our daily activities and have meaningful connections and relationships with others. False pleasures are those activities or substances that give us an increased level of dopamine, or other feel-good hormone, and bring into our life negative consequences (things we don’t want). For instance, if we are able to have 2-4 glasses of wine per week and don’t feel any negative effects in our life, this could be a practice we maintain. If, on the other hand, we experience disrupted sleep or become aggressive to our loved ones, this would be something we want to change given the negative effects in our life.
If you want to take your life to the next level, you must start acting as if you are at that next level.
If we continue the cycle of indulging in false pleasures, we know that it can become addictive and difficult to stop. The vicious cycle of over-desiring, overdrinking, and feeling trapped leads to low confidence and low self-esteem. This low self-esteem perpetuates the need for comforting pleasure, and the cycle repeats with over-desiring as an escape from the uncomfortable emotions.
The brain will like this cycle since it is known, easy and doesn’t require work.
When we learn how to feel instead of over-drink, learn to delay gratification and take full responsibility for our emotions, the cycle is very different. We feel in control. We can manage our desire and our life. It gives us tremendous self confidence and self-esteem to then apply those skills to other areas of our lives. The false pleasure and the well being scenarios continue to expand the more they are practiced, just as the better we get at creating or negating self-esteem. One perpetuates unconsciousness and lack of control, and the other perpetuates consciousness and self-management. It’s about developing the skill sets that will continue your growth and evolve throughout your lifetime.
If you want to take your life to the next level, you must start acting as if you are at that next level.
Focus your efforts for a life of well being and joy, not falsified pleasures that rob you of authentic joy.
