“There are glimpses of heaven to us in every act, or thought, or word, that raises us above ourselves.” – Robert Quillen
This summer I have a few goals I have set for myself. I want to grow mentally, spiritually, and physically. My focus for growing mentally this year is reading more, writing more, and listening to podcasts. I added podcasts to my routine recently. I wanted to listen to something while I did mundane tasks. This would help me learn something new. One podcast I am listening to right now is called Hidden Brain. The focus of this podcast is to learn how your brain works. It also explores how it affects your interactions with others. One of the topics I listened to recently talked about how there are benefits to doing hard things. When we do hard and challenging activities, we typically feel more satisfied. It’s easy and enjoyable to just sit and scroll on my phone all day. Later on, how often are we satisfied from just sitting and staring at our phones all day? If we are honest with ourselves, we are not. When I switch out my cell phone for the book I am currently reading. Doing so, I walk away from that moment of rest more satisfied.
Another activity that I have found more satisfying lately is taking walks around my neighborhood. It’s easier to stay home and sit on the couch as opposed to talking a 2 mile or more walk. After the walk, I feel better. Sometimes I walk alone, but more often my wife comes with me. If it’s just me, I usually just listen to instrumental music, and keep my phone in my pocket. If it’s just my wife and I, we don’t look at our phones at all. We talk to each other the entire time. I usually come back home tired, and this time year a little sweaty too. It’s worth it. I have noticed many improvements about myself since I have started walking in the afternoons.
Another cool thing about walking is that I get to practice my photography more. I usually take my camera along because I’m always amazed by what I spot out there. During one of my walks, I spotted this beautiful old mustang parked on my route. At first, I was just going to head back. Instead, I decided to stop and snap a few photos of it. This is what makes my walks more satisfying. If I just stayed home, I would have never had an opportunity to capture photos of this car. Sometimes the satisfaction comes in the form of an opportunity.
Through Griffin's Lens 