Walking is the most trivial physical activity imaginable, yet it can be profoundly enjoyable if a person sets goals and take control of the process.
On the other hand, the hundreds of sophisticated forms of sports and body culture currently available – ranging from racquetball to Yoga, from bicycling to martial arts – may not be enjoyable at all if one approaches them with the attitude that one must take part in them because they are fashionable, or simply because they are good for one’s health.
Many people get caught up in the a treadmill of physical activity over which they end up having little control, feeling duty bound to exercise without having any fun doing it. They have made the usual mistake of confounding form and substance, and assume that concrete actions and events are the only “reality” that determines what they experience.
However, enjoyment as we have seen does not depend on what you do, rather on how you do it.
In a study it is found that people were happiest when they were talking to one another, when they gardened, knitted, or were involved in activities require few material resources, but they demand a relatively high investment of psychic energy.
Leisure that uses up external resources, however, often requires less attention, and as a consequence it generally provides less memorable rewards.
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