The main goal of the exercise is to identify the smallest details that make you happy and which are important to add when you draw pictures of the future for yourself.
As an illustration, imagine a person who doesn’t know what foods and seasonings they like and don’t like. And so he prepares dinner for himself, but out of ignorance he throws everything into the pan. As a result, sometimes it turns out delicious, and sometimes he tries, grimaces and says: “Brrr, what a disgusting thing, I don’t want to eat this” — and remains hungry!
In pictures of happiness, success, joy, comfort and interest, it is especially important to know what is important for you, what “seasonings” to add. Then the pictures of the future will always delight and you will want to go there.
First part of the exercise
The task is quite simple: remember and write down five things (occupations, states, hobbies) that you like. I will formulate more precisely — write what makes you rush, what is just “wow!”, what you want to do for your own pleasure.
I’ll warn you right away, just in case: you don’t have to write what you should like. Write exactly what you really like
Let’s give examples:
- Drive fast
- Play computer games
- Cooking something tasty, new and unusual
- Reading a book and drinking tea late in the evening
- Say something vigorously, waving your arms
So your five points are what makes you happy. If there is more, more is possible. In the second part, we will work with them in more detail.
Second part of the exercise
You have written a list of what makes you happy. Now let’s take a closer look at this list.
Each of the items has some detail that you like. This is not necessarily the case itself, it just happens that some important detail appears in this case.
For example: a woman likes to bake pancakes on Saturday or Sunday mornings. But if you dig deeper, then she especially likes that the pancakes are pleasantly sizzling, that there is dawn outside the window and that no one distracts her — you can calmly and with pleasure do what you love.
In fact, we like those small details, not the case itself. The main idea is that if we know the details, we can add them to our pictures of the future, and from this the pictures will immediately become happy and interesting.
How to determine the details?
Those who are familiar with antivirus technology will be familiar with it. Only we will do the opposite.
Take one of the items. Let’s take computer games as an example.
- Write down this item «I like to play such and such a game»
- Then ask yourself the question: “What is the pleasure in this? Why do I like it?
- Write several options — the first thing that comes to mind is free association
- Choose the one that seems the most pleasant of all listed (and it should be more pleasant than the original item)
- Write down the chosen item and again ask yourself: “What is pleasant about this? Why do I like it?
Keep doing this until you get stuck. Every time you ask yourself the question: “What is the pleasure in this?”.
Important: write associations. Logic: “What, in theory, should be pleasant in this” — you can only find template answers, they are not interesting to us. Associations can be strange, the main thing is that they are pleasant.
Observation: if you do this search to the very end, you will come to one of the basic needs of Theory 2 — either security or interest. In fact, this is exactly what we need to add to the pictures of the future — security and interest. But our task is not to reach the very end, but to stop one step before the end. That is, to reach the last elements that give a sense of security and interest.
By the way, let’s give examples of what can happen in the end:
- I manage everything and I can reach everything
- I have clear chains in my head, how everything will happen next
- Lots of drastic changes that need to be dealt with quickly
- I have a relaxed body and speak with a loud voice
By the way, often when you ask yourself the question “What is pleasant about this?” The first thing I want to say is “Well, how what?!!!” – it seems that it is pleasant and all. But if you start to carefully understand, then the answer comes
You need to do a debriefing for each item you wrote (one debriefing can take about 10-15 minutes) and in the end you will have a list of final details that make your life cozy and interesting.
So write down your analysis. It is important to collect at least 3-5 details that make you happy.
Part Three.
Coloring book with pictures of the future
To begin with, I offer a simple preparation: imagine your life in the coming months — November, December, January, February. Mentally imagine what you will do, where to live, where to visit, what people to communicate with. What kind of meetings, events, how will you spend the evenings, what will you learn.
While it is possible without vivid details, approximately, the main thing for us is to create a «soil».
And then the fun part — choose one item from your list that makes you happy. Any. Now add one small picture to the overall picture of life, in which this detail will be clearly manifested.
For example, if the detail: «Order, when everything is at hand and in its place.»
You can imagine how you sit at your desk in the morning, finish putting things in order and feel that every thing is in its place.
For example, if the detail is: «Many new acquaintances and a bright life.»
You can imagine how you are signing up for some new classes, acting, cooking or something else. How do you rather wait for the end of the working day, because in the evening you go to class
For example, if the detail is: «A lot of comfort and admiring the beauty.»
You can imagine the first snow, how you are walking home along the snow-strewn road, how beautifully the lanterns are lit, and how you feel that at this moment you are comfortable and happy.
For each item on the list, think of walking one picture, and even better — two or three. It will be very cool if these pictures are tied to what you are planning to do. If you have long wanted to put things in order, a picture about order will finally inspire you to do it. If you really wanted to get into acting, but didn’t get around to it — the picture “Many New Acquaintances and a Bright Life” would be great to make about acting. Etc.
But! Even if you just make pictures that will be about what you already have planned in the future, this is also great. Why?
Because the main task will be to present these pictures many times a day. As soon as you have a free five minutes — a break at work or a road trip — immediately unfold one of the pictures in your imagination. It can be short, just for a minute, the main thing is to have time to immerse yourself in those sensations. It will be absolutely ideal if you can remember the pictures at least ten to twenty times a day.
What will change in your life:
- The future will seem warm, cozy and at the same time bright and interesting.
- You can set yourself up to do what you have long wanted — by drawing a happy picture about it
- It will be easy for you to go through any changes in life — job change, moving, new relationships — you will immediately draw pictures of happiness about a new life
- You can easily take on cases that seemed difficult and unpleasant — by adding a detail to the picture of this case that makes you happy
The main thing to remember is that pictures of a happy future are like food, they need to be presented not just every day, but several times a day. Then you will really have a feeling of a happy, comfortable and interesting future. And if you draw pictures about what you have long wanted to do, then there will be a connection between this business and happiness in the future. This connection will help you take on this endeavor and do it well.
If you’re interested, post your pictures in the comments. Maybe one or two, maybe a few of the most interesting. A picture written with text usually turns out to be noticeably stronger.