Chris Jarling

I do a lot of things that make me happy over the course of a day. I'm lucky to be able to say that I do mostly things I like in a typical day. Yet, I often find myself forgetting that these things make me happy and I end up in a pursiut of happiness by consuming and buying things.

I recently read an interview with DHH on the daily sotic in which he talked about what being wealthy means to him. He noted that most of the things he loves do not cost a lot of money and that he, because of that, is not afraid to lose all his money.

Now, I am not wealthy, so I am not afraid of losing all my wealth as well. But this interview got me thinking about the things I love and how I tend to not notice the joy they give me, just because I am not paying attention to them.
I decided to wirte them down, so I don't forget.

• Programming. I really enjoy solving problems and trying to write the best code I can. Luckily, this is also my job, so I get to do it for a long period of time every day and also get money in exchange for it.
• Riding my bike. I do not own this thing for a long time, but it is probably the one thing of everything I have ever posessed that is sparking the most joy in me (you knew there was a Kondo reference in here somewhere, didn't you?). It keeps me healthy as well. Also, exercise in general.
• Eating. It keeps me alive, and if done right, it also tastes awesome.
• Hanging out and talking with people. I always saw talking as some kind of necessary evil, probably because I am weird. But I really enjoy it, if I just focus on it.
• Reading. It keeps me calm and I talk myself into believing that it makes me smarter.
• Learning new things. No matter in which area, I just like knowing something I did not know yesterday.
• My morning coffee. I recently reduced my coffee intake to just one cup in the morning, which makes this one cup really special. It is the best coffee I ever had, every day.
• Sleeping. Making room in my day to get enough sleep is making everything in my day better. I don't love the process of it, since I am not present for a large part of it, but I adore what it gives me.

It's funny though, that I need to force myself to do most of these activities instead of watching YouTube videos for 6 hours a day.