Author Topic: Top 10 activities that make you happy  (Read 18751 times)

mechanic baird

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Top 10 activities that make you happy
« on: June 20, 2012, 02:06:32 PM »
This is from MMM's early post Getting Started #2 – The Higher Cause

"What if you were to write down the top ten activities that make you happy and are good for your long-term happiness and health, then start spending most of your time doing those things? You would probably find that most of them are not expensive, and that they take so much time you don’t have time for the expensive ones.

For example, for me the list would have things like:
- have breakfast with my family every day
- have some playing, learning, reading time with my son every day
- read 1 new book per week for myself
- practice guitar at least 1 hour per week
- work out with weights and ride bikes 3 times per week
- family hike or other outing 2 times per week
- try cooking a new semi-fancy recipe for the family or friends once per week
"


So I want to throw this out there, see if anyone wanna write down your top favorite daily activities and how you are focusing on them...

Sparky

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2012, 07:47:24 PM »
Top ten is too much for me at the moment, I'll start with a top five instead. Haven't had enough coffee this morning. No real order.

- Riding my bicycle. I like idea of going fast in a self powered way.
- Cooking and eating tasty food. I like eating and sharing it with others.
- Travelling to random locations on this planet. Cheap entertainment, random conversations and some interesting sights.
- Photography. I enjoy the challenge of trying to take a decent photo even though I have little artistic talent.
- Hanging out with the girlfriend. She's a interesting usually :)

sol

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2012, 08:53:15 PM »
If I felt no compulsion to be productive in any way, I would play my ukulele every day.

Kriegsspiel

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2012, 10:13:29 PM »
I would enter a powerlifting competition, get cracking on a novel, write a song (on the chapman stick I'm about to buy!), and maybe some other stuff.

Matt K

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2012, 07:26:42 AM »
Some of those definitely ring true for me:
  • Take time to cook a nice hearty breakfast
  • Cook a fancy (and new) dinner on a regular basis
  • Spend more time with my guitar. A few hours a week spread out as half hour sessions
  • Walk/bike with my dog in the woods
  • Read a book
  • Dedicate an hour a week doing photography
  • Teach/Guide/otherwise-share mountain biking with people new to the sport
  • Go mountain biking with people better than me to push myself
  • Explore, by foot, bike, or motorcycle, someplace new to me, whether near or far
  • Write

sideways8

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2012, 08:07:29 AM »
-Learning music
-Teaching music (my side hussle!)
-Outdoor physical activities! Biking, running, kayaking, hiking
-Reading (both fiction and non-fiction)
-Visit my parents... especially at their place which is near so many beautiful forest preserves
-Visit with friends
-Live music
-Playin' with the doggies and kitties and being an all-around crazy animal lady
-Catching frogs/toads/grasshoppers/lightning bugs/snakes
-Waking up without an alarm :) I only get to do that on weekends sometimes.

Bakari

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2012, 09:20:19 AM »
In no particular order:

1 sex
2 ice cream
3 music
4 skating (preferably while carrying a boombox)
5 spending time in nature
6 parkour (or just generally running around and jumping and climbing)
7 fixing things
8 philosophical and political internet debates and discussions
9 physical games, like laser tag, Full Contact Spoons, or badminton
10 cuddling and affection (bonus if its after #1)

Pretty much all free, and I make a pretty good living with #7


mechanic baird

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2012, 10:09:58 AM »
Like MMM mentioned, none of these activities cost a lot of money. Right on!!!
How come Bakari is the only one mentioned "sex"?

Matt K

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2012, 12:19:29 PM »
Like MMM mentioned, none of these activities cost a lot of money. Right on!!!
How come Bakari is the only one mentioned "sex"?

To quote penny-arcade: "You get sex for free?"*
« Last Edit: June 22, 2012, 06:50:58 AM by Matt K »

sideways8

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #9 on: June 21, 2012, 12:26:10 PM »
Dang I don't know why I don't have that on my list... maybe I just figured it was a given??

kolorado

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #10 on: June 21, 2012, 01:36:03 PM »
I actually do spend most of my "free" time doing these things. I put in full-time job hours cleaning the house and homeschooling the kids. But when I get a few minutes between subjects or in a situation where I can multi-task I try to do something from my happy list. My "real" happy list is called my joy list and it has about three times as many entries but they aren't all activities. One non-activity is seeing the shine on the floors and tubs. I don't know why but it makes me so happy I could cry. Writing things like that down really helps motivate me to do the things I really don't want to do(the actual scrubbing of the tubs and floors).
Have any of you have ever heard of the FlyLady? She's a motivational homemaking coach. Her thoughts on keeping house and time management were tremendously appreciated during my early 20's. Even though it would appear my life is consumed by homemaking and raising children I'm not one of those moms who's lost herself. I know what activities make me happy and I do a variety of those things every day.

1.writing
2.reading
3. cooking/baking
4.volunteering
5.swimming
6.yoga
7.visiting with my parents
8.vacationing with hubby
9.sewing
10.hiking

Osprey

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #11 on: June 21, 2012, 11:23:28 PM »
I love this thread! Here are mine:
- Eating breakfast in the mornings while doing the social network + blog rounds
- Spending time with my boyfriend and siblings
- Reading
- Going to gym
- Going to the kruger national park (more or less down the road, but petrol-intensive!)
- Playing magic the gathering
- Sewing
- Baking
- Going to social events
- Getting a back rub

Probably there is more. I just realised most of these things don't cost much at the moment but they have the potential to get expensive if I ever decide to "upgrade." Better watch myself. This was so insightful!

Bullseye

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2012, 09:29:10 AM »
I'll exclude activities listed above, although I do many of them.

- snuggling on couch watching a movie with kids and wife.  It's the only time my kids are not in motion, and willing to cuddle
- picnics! 
- browsing magazines at the library
- sitting around a campfire
- throwing a frisbee
- exploring anywhere new, by foot, bike, car, or whatever.  I just like changing scenery.
- throwing big rocks into water

ShavenLlama

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2012, 11:27:05 AM »
In no particular order:

1 sex
2 ice cream
3 music
4 skating (preferably while carrying a boombox)

Boogie Nights, amiright?

My list:

Sleeping.
Enjoying new microbrews.
Crocheting.
Making fun birthday cards.
Baking.
Swimming in the ocean (DO NOT do this with your wedding band on!).
Camping/Hiking. Especially if I can take someone who has never been, and show them how fun it is. And especially if there's water nearby.
Car trips- So often the trip to someplace is as fun as being at that place. Especially when traveling with someone who equally enjoys relaxing and seeing the scenery of this awesome and varied country.
Meeting new people.
Reading.

Like Kolorado, I also hear a little "Squeee!!!" in my head when my kitchen counters are so clean I can see the grass from the yard reflecting on them. But I hate the process.

darkelenchus

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2012, 02:58:49 PM »
In no particular order:
  • Reading - I do this a couple hours a day, at least. Mostly non-fiction. And it's part of how I make a living (academic research), though that sort of reading gets incredibly boring and unedifying at times.
  • Writing - My wife and I started a blog recently, and have set up a schedule to post regularly. We've also begun work on a book series associated with the topics we deal with on our blog.
  • Exercise - I've got a five day a week routine that I do that takes between 15 - 20 minutes, except when I do yoga, which is around 45 minutes.
  • Watching Film - This one could cost money, but we basically just get DVD's from the library. The films we like - B&W films and quirky indie films - is almost always available. Anytime there's a more popular title, we put it on hold. We usually do no more than two films a week.
  • Volunteering - There's a neat program a few blocks from where we live called Dream Bikes. Volunteering there is something I'd like to do, but haven't yet, due to time constraints.
  • Gardening - We've got a pretty big one going right now! Tending to the garden is usually the most relaxing part of my day.
  • Building Stuff - I'm always finding wood waste, thinking of ideas for stuff I want to do with it, and capturing on a piece of paper. I usually do a project once a week.
  • Contemplation - It's been a habit of mine since I was a teenager to take at least 10 - 20 minutes each day to do some introspection, reflection on my conversations with others, and evaluation of ideas I've came across throughout the day. I pretty much need this as an introvert, otherwise I'll go mad.
  • Hanging Out w/ the Wife - It's great, & the time we have is too limited. That's why we want FI!
  • Nature Walks -  ... Come to think about it, I haven't been very good about this lately. Time to shut off the computer!

cdttmm

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #15 on: June 30, 2012, 03:30:17 PM »
My top 10 activities that not only make me happy, but also are good for my long-term happiness and health, in no particular order.

 1.  Reading
 2.  Gardening
 3.  Trail running
 4.  Studying Tae Kwon Do
 5.  Spending time with my pets
 6.  Yoga
 7.  Mountain biking/road biking
 8.  Snowboarding/cross-country skiing/snowshoeing
 9.  Swimming
10. Spending time with my significant other

gooki

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #16 on: July 01, 2012, 01:36:26 AM »
Going to the beach.
Taking my time cooking.
Putting my little girl to bed.
Movie nights at friends houses (eating, talking shit).
Helping friends (moving, tech advice).
Making stuff with my hands (mostly wood working).
Chillin with family.
Biking to/from work.
Going to the park.
Hiking (don't do this anywhere near enough).

kaeldra

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #17 on: July 11, 2012, 12:19:15 AM »
1. Hiking - I go pretty much every weekend, but would love to go multiple times a week!

2. Photography - Sometimes I take photos when I'm hiking, but I used to go on photo shoot excursions all the time in college. In high school I thought photography was my life's passion. It probably is, and I should find a darkroom.

3. Baking - I've cut back on quantity for my waistline, as well as switched to whole grains. The past six months, I've also been experimenting with vegan and gluten-free baking.

4. Drawing - In college, drawing was my life outside of classes - this year, I've probably spent less than 8 hours drawing.

5. Camping / Backpacking - I squeeze in 2 trips a year on average, and that ain't cuttin it. I really miss backpacking! Being in a state that I'm not familiar with the backpacking areas doesn't help either.

6. Writing - I've been getting back in the groove the past couple months, but want to make it a daily habit.

7. Reading - this, I'm keeping up on - a low-energy activity I can handle after work. I want to get back into graphic novels, but they're a pricey habit when the library doesn't carry indie titles...

8. Making websites - currently designing one on a volunteer basis - I'd be a lot better if I could do it all the time.

9. Sleeping as much as I need - I wish. It'd be fun to try a biphasic sleep cycle, I kind of had one inadvertently in college.

10. Sitting down to eat dinner with my partner - almost every day! I didn't realize how important this was to me until we moved in together, and he thought I was crazy.

englyn

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #18 on: July 19, 2012, 07:56:41 PM »
I sort of want to bookmark this thread. It's really inspiring.
It's really interesting that almost all of these things can actually be done while still working, just not every day. As I quite enjoy my job and found it hard without that structure when I wasn't working for a while recently, it's making me think harder about how I could set myself up to work part time while still having challenging work.
Some of my happy activities - in no particular order and subject to change at short notice:
Gardening, reading, hiking, baking and cooking, spending time with my husband, sewing/craft, playing music and singing.

edit: of course only SOME of these subject to change at short notice ;)

mm1970

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #19 on: July 24, 2012, 06:55:03 PM »
Reading with/to my 6 year old son
Snuggling with my 2.5 week old son
Walking
Biking
Swimming
Cooking/ meal planning
Quilting
Having dinner with my family
Doing some good solid engineering work (on hold for a few months!)
Hanging out with friends in the park/ at local concerts with our kids

carolinakaren

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #20 on: July 25, 2012, 04:32:53 PM »
1.  Slowly drink and enjoy my morning coffee
2.  Stroll through my veggie garden while doing #1
3.  Get a kayak and use it a lot!
4.  Camping
5.  Eat Pad Thai every day! (I do this only 1-2 x per wk due to cost)
6.  Read books (fiction)
7.  Hang out at the library looking for more books
8.  Snuggle with my pets more
9.  Not ever go to work again....(can that count?  Technically it's a non-action)
10.  Ok, we all need more sex of course!

totoro

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #21 on: July 25, 2012, 05:02:15 PM »
1.  Hanging out with family
2.  Planning and researching interesting projects (everything from rental properties to aquaculture)
3.  Having a clean house (notice that cleaning was not include... darn)
4.  Cooking
5.  Reading
6.  Walking
7.  Gardening
8.  Connecting deeply with a few folks  (small dinner parties good... big parties exhausting)
9.  Going to the library
10. Fishing

englyn

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #22 on: July 25, 2012, 07:24:38 PM »
CK, Pad Thai is really easy and cheap to make yourself ;)
(not so healthy though, consisting mostly of white carbs...)

carolinakaren

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #23 on: July 26, 2012, 10:12:57 AM »
Do tell Englyn!  I tried to make it myself once, but it was terrible!  I didn't use a bottled sauce though, and that might make it easier.  Pad Thai is my crack cocaine, so if you have any tips/recipes that you would like to share please send them to me. 

englyn

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #24 on: July 26, 2012, 09:25:49 PM »
Sent you a PM. :)

Petruchio

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #25 on: August 27, 2012, 08:26:09 PM »
I really like this.

  • Spend time outside with my little sister every afternoon (she's ten)
  • Read a new book every day
  • Trick for an hour or so each morning
  • Tend to and expand our family garden (We just harvested 50 pounds of potatoes)
  • Astronomy. It is not a hobby of mine, but it should
  • Yoga. Those times that I have done it felt amazing afterwards. Not so much while I was doing it
  • Pick-up. Its enjoyable, and I'm looking for the future Mrs. Petruchio.
  • Build my future house. I am thinking earthbags, to save on material costs. Very labor intensive though
  • Prayer and Meditation
  • Volunteer. For Church and Charities

galaxie

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #26 on: August 28, 2012, 06:38:22 AM »
  • Spending time with my husband and our dog
  • Being athletic - I do Brazilian jiujitsu and bike a lot, and I dabble in yoga and strength training.
  • Spending time with friends, especially doing cooperative projects with them
  • Solving problems and fixing stuff (I do this at my job)
  • Cooking
  • Learning things, especially languages
  • Optimizing things around the house - finding better storage solutions, improving the landscaping, things like that.
  • Walking around in my neighborhood and sometimes buying an ice cream cone
  • Eating new and artful foods -- this one tends to cost money, because restaurants are a good place to find creative chefery.  I don't do it very often, though, and if I could make it better at home I don't bother.
  • Reading, listening to music, and NPR

AJ

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #27 on: August 28, 2012, 11:16:05 AM »
  • Trick for an hour or so each morning

I'm curious what this means. It can't possibly be what I'm thinking... :/

Petruchio

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #28 on: August 28, 2012, 01:41:16 PM »
  • Trick for an hour or so each morning

I'm curious what this means. It can't possibly be what I'm thinking... :/
Why tell you when I can show you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qPSk53w7iU

Disclaimer: I am nowhere near as good as Vellu

Kriegsspiel

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #29 on: August 28, 2012, 08:28:02 PM »
  • Trick for an hour or so each morning

I'm curious what this means. It can't possibly be what I'm thinking... :/

That was my first thought too.  I was on to the next line when I did a double take.  You know what, some prostitutes love their jobs!

c

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #30 on: September 06, 2012, 06:01:00 PM »
Watching my cats play and sleep
"Chatting" to my sister online (she lives in another country, so I don't get to see her often. I am SO grateful for technology.)
Cleaning and organizing my living space
Walking around my neighborhood on a weekday (who ARE these people who don't have jobs and what do they do every day?)
Reading
Jumping rope
Making soups
Learning to use (and getting) new tools
Weeding my lawn
A hot bath

An interesting exercise. Other than the tools none of this really costs a lot of money on an on-going basis once you're FI. Also, for the most part, I can make the tools pay for themselves, though I'm a total tool-whore so that may just be a hollow justification.

FI@2022Jem

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #31 on: September 06, 2012, 09:14:21 PM »

Making soups


1. haha, I love making soup too!
2. laying in the sun when it's cool and the shade when it's warm
3. setting my automatic coffee pot to be ready when I wake up
4. when I go to bed with wet hair and it looks nice when I wake up (ha, it doesn't happen all the time but I really enjoy those ten extra minutes of leisure in the morning when it does)
5. my dog, and all dogs
6. when I realize I have all the ingredients already on hand to make something
7. my husband and friends and mom and dad
8. that feeling after exercise, especially outdoor exercise
9. crossing things off a to do list
10. when I fall asleep soon after getting into bed and waking up well rested in the morning

(in no particular order)

JT

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #32 on: October 05, 2012, 04:27:19 PM »
1. Spending time with my son
2. Riding my bike
3. Catching up with friends/family
4. Using free technology like skype and viber
5. Eating good healthy food
6. Avoiding stress
7. Watching savings increase
8. Reading
9. Exercising
10. Challenging the brain

Wow!  I thought that was going to be harder than it was!!

kkbmustang

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #33 on: October 05, 2012, 04:45:27 PM »
I really need a remedial course on quoting on here.

Bakari - Isn't Full Contact Spoons the bit that comes after #1?

Mine would include:
-Finish my novel (200 pages down, 40ish pages and a ton of revisions to go) and then write another one
-Snuggle with my kids on the sofa, while drinking coffee and listening to the sound of rain drops on the roof
-Read anything and everything
-Spend focused time in prayer and reading my Bible
-Volunteer
-Perform (musical theatre)
-Bikram yoga
-Cook
-Spend time with my family (Hubs and 2 kids)
-Travel to a place with a beach

lauren_knows

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #34 on: October 05, 2012, 06:09:08 PM »
I'll split this up between things that I like to do (and currently are) and things that I like to do (and can't due to time constraints with work).

Bolded = Not currently doing at all (or enough of)
  • Playing with my 6mo old son.
  • Cooking all meals from scratch
  • Weekly/Daily bike rides and weightlifting
  • Hikes with my wife.
  • Reading
  • Programming projects
  • Gardening
  • Small increments of video games.
  • Homebrewing - Beer & Cider
  • I would love to take up daily yoga, because I'm chronically stiff, and I think it'd be good for me in the long run. It's far down the totem pole though.

Lately, we've just been getting used to having a kid in the house. Most of our "time together" involves running errands on the weekend.  So far, we have chosen to keep him out of daycare by juggling our schedules a ton (I work longer shifts Mon-Thurs, watching our son on Fri.  Wife works Mon&Fri, watches our son Tues-Thurs.  MIL watches son on Mon.)

I'm hoping to get some more weightlifting in. I've been nursing an injury.

spider1204

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #35 on: October 05, 2012, 10:43:57 PM »
I'll follow Bo's suggestion and bold the things that I'm currently not doing enough of.

1.  Climbing trees, rock, concrete, brick, plastic, anything interesting.
2.  Cooking a delicious meal, especially after number one.
3.  Friends and family
4. Sleeping in my car on a cool night.
5.  Humans vs Zombies
6.  Good board games
7.  Learning new things
8.  Teaching others new things
9.  Trying to a find a buildings security holes.
10.  Hanging out with my girlfriend.

Bakari

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #36 on: October 06, 2012, 12:20:12 PM »
I really need a remedial course on quoting on here.

Just click the word "quote", at the upper right corner of each post.  It will automatically quote the entire entry in a new "reply" window.  You can also do it when you are already in a new post window, but only the most recent 15 or so posts.
You can also just cut and paste, and then wrap the quoted portion with the word "quote" surrounded by square brackets "[" "]" before, and the word "/quote" in brackets afterwards.


Quote
Bakari - Isn't Full Contact Spoons the bit that comes after #1?

LOL!  Sounds nice, but no, not even close. 
Reminds me of the confusion over "tricking"...

Full contact spoons: http://www.instructables.com/id/Play-Full-Contact-Spoons/

That's something that ought to be bolded in my list (for not doing enough of it.)
#1 as well, for that matter...

kkbmustang

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #37 on: October 06, 2012, 04:31:36 PM »
I really need a remedial course on quoting on here.

Just click the word "quote", at the upper right corner of each post.  It will automatically quote the entire entry in a new "reply" window.  You can also do it when you are already in a new post window, but only the most recent 15 or so posts.
You can also just cut and paste, and then wrap the quoted portion with the word "quote" surrounded by square brackets "[" "]" before, and the word "/quote" in brackets afterwards.

Here goes nothing.....thanks? Gah, forget it.
« Last Edit: October 06, 2012, 04:33:10 PM by kkbmustang »

grantmeaname

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #38 on: October 08, 2012, 07:04:22 AM »
You did everything right except your new sentence. When you're doing quotes, make sure you move past the last "/quote" bracket before you start typing your comment, and it'll then quote everything up to what you're saying.

Use it up, wear it out...

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #39 on: October 08, 2012, 08:10:45 AM »
My top 10 activities, again bolded = need more of this!

  • Hiking, backpacking, camping, canoeing
  • cooking & eating a good meal, especially with friends
  • bicycling
  • Reading and learning new things (and discussing them with friends)
  • playing games, especially bridge
  • going on "adventures" with my children
  • going to cultural events: theater, museums, the orchestra, gardens
  • outdoor sports, especially ice skating
  • travel, especially to visit people
  • volunteering

As I wrote this, it became clear to me that I enjoy social aspects of all of these - so I didn't bother to put it in as a separate item.

riverffashion

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #40 on: July 17, 2015, 12:08:27 PM »
Not in order ...I

1. Hanging out with SO
2. Hanging out with friends
3. Reading
4. Writing
5. Dancing
6. Hiking
7. Hanging out at the beach or pool
8. Vacationing with my SO
9. Hand sewing
10. Drawing and painting
« Last Edit: July 17, 2015, 01:49:36 PM by riverffashion »

Cookie78

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #41 on: July 17, 2015, 12:26:35 PM »
1) Exploring new places, near and far
2) Playing with my dog
3) Spending time with SO
4) Gardening
5) Cooking/baking
6) Spending time with family and friends
7) Creating things (and learning how)
8) Learning new hobbies and other things
9) Working towards challenging goals
10) Snuggling/sex

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #42 on: July 17, 2015, 12:34:33 PM »
1) good food
2) good beer
3) sex
4) nature
5) motorcycling
6) mountain biking
7) exploring new places
8) spending chill time with family and friends alike
9) crunching numbers
10) naps

riverffashion

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #43 on: July 17, 2015, 01:48:01 PM »
So I think maybe only 1 person mentioned volunteering... not judging, just noting :)

1. Taking a nap without constraints
2. Participating in recreational team sports
3. Creating something that makes me laugh
4. Reading or viewing something that makes me laugh
5. A nice long shower during which I waste a shit ton of water

Can't think of 10 right now...

I noticed you didn't list volunteering either... No judgement, just interesting that you commented on that .
« Last Edit: July 17, 2015, 01:53:36 PM by riverffashion »

Basenji

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #44 on: July 17, 2015, 02:10:45 PM »
1. Hanging out with my husband, planning stuff, talking, other "interactions"
2. Hanging out with my dogs, walking, doing training/tricks, cuddling
3. Making delicious food for DH and friends, and eating/talking
4. Reading
5. Sleeping
6. Making lists
7. Thinking about FIRE
8. Long walks
9. Growing vegetables
10. Learning something new, practical or not


Cougar

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #45 on: July 17, 2015, 02:22:40 PM »
If I felt no compulsion to be productive in any way, I would play my ukulele every day.

second.

 i would alternate between guitar and harmonica given i could live where i wished (in my case, tahoe, breckenridge or asheville).


i've done enough of the others most listed to be satisfied - i.e. - travel, read, cook, hang with friends/family.

Zikoris

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #46 on: July 17, 2015, 02:41:10 PM »
1. Dance! I take ballet classes weekly and go to social ballroom and salsa events sometimes.

2. My half hour of downtime between when I get home from work and when I need to start dinner to have it ready for when boyfriend gets home. I have some sort of nice snack, like a PBJ sandwich on homemade bread, then put on music and web surf.

3. Eating my favourite foods.

4. Hanging out with my boyfriend. We both have a lot going on in our lives and read a lot, so we discuss everything under the sun.

5. Hiking, biking, and other outdoor activities. Always been one of my favourite things to do!

6. Travelling and planning for our future trips. Always something fun to do there. Vacation shopping is awesome when you have the money and savviness to be able to travel anywhere you want to go.

7. Reading. Both books and online blogs/forums.

8. Playing video games. I gravitate towards puzzle games, murder mysteries, and other ones that require quite a bit of thinking vs shooting zombies.

9. Badassity. It's always fun to find some new way to make your lifestyle more efficient and find more money to dump into the investments.

10. It's kind of weird, but finding new ways to scare/surprise my boyfriend is hilarious to me. Like, when I'm taking laundry down from the drying rack I'll make his socks and underwear into a big ball and "bomb" him when he's not expecting it (like when he's taking a nap or has headphones in). Also, sneaking up behind him and poking him, which makes him jump. I've even hid in the closet and jumped out at him a few times. He likes it though.
« Last Edit: July 17, 2015, 02:43:12 PM by Zikoris »

The Pigeon

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #47 on: July 17, 2015, 02:56:58 PM »
I would enter a powerlifting competition, get cracking on a novel, write a song (on the chapman stick I'm about to buy!), and maybe some other stuff.

Lucky you! I loved mine, but had to give it up for tendinitis issues.mthe reach across the board really aggravated my left wrist/arm. I still consider re-buying one, until I remember how playing it hurt so much. Enjoy the stick, it will open up new musical horizons. :-)

-Pigeon, who now simply focuses on guitar

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #48 on: July 17, 2015, 03:16:00 PM »
1) good food
2) good beer
3) sex
4) nature
5) motorcycling
6) mountain biking
7) exploring new places
8) spending chill time with family and friends alike
9) crunching numbers
10) naps

So the food and the beer have to be "good," but the quality of the sex doesn't matter? :)

Haha good sex melts my brain, the thread top asked for things that make me happy. Mediocre beer and food isn't worth the calories.

But good catch :D

riverffashion

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Re: Top 10 activities that make you happy
« Reply #49 on: July 17, 2015, 07:00:58 PM »
1) good food
2) good beer
3) sex
4) nature
5) motorcycling
6) mountain biking
7) exploring new places
8) spending chill time with family and friends alike
9) crunching numbers
10) naps

So the food and the beer have to be "good," but the quality of the sex doesn't matter? :)

Haha good sex melts my brain, the thread top asked for things that make me happy. Mediocre beer and food isn't worth the calories.

But good catch :D

Great sex of course is implied ( or maybe not? ) when I listed hanging out with my SO. " hanging out" you know. Hahaha. Just hanging out in general  is also  excellent though :) .