How to Do More of What Makes You Happy (7 awesome tips)
Life is full of epic adventures and opportunities for awesome fun. So you should do more of what makes you happy. Let this post be your permission slip.
Because doing more things that put a pep in your step is just a better way to live.
You’ll stress less, have more fun and be happier living closer to your purpose and passions.
So these are my go-to moves for doing more of what you love (guilt free).
Let’s get to it.
1. Get Clarity On What Actually Makes You Happy
A solid first step for doing more of what you love is to get clarity on what you actually enjoy doing.
So, what makes you happy?
It’s important to be honest here too. Because sometimes we think we like something, but that interest could actually come from some social pressure or a sense of obligation.
For example, if you’re naturally good at drawing, it can feel like you should do more of that. But maybe it doesn’t actually make you happy.
Maybe woodworking is what makes you feel alive (even if you’re bad at it).
So doing what makes you happy is less about skill and more about enjoyment.
It sounds obvious, I know. But it’s something we can easily forget too. So this is just a friendly reminder to spend a little time self reflecting on things.
Here are a few questions that can help:
What do you act on spontaneously?
What do you lose track of time doing?
What did you love to do when you were a child?
What do you do without a need for money or recognition?
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2. Hone Your Mindset
Doing more of what makes you happy requires the right mindset.
Namely, you need to believe that doing more of what you love is actually important and meaningful.
We should address any limiting beliefs we may have, such as thinking that your hobbies are unimportant or a “waste of time”.
Because even if something makes you no money or has no obvious practical benefit doesn’t mean it’s not important.
Obviously, the value of an activity is much more nuanced than this.
So it can help to redefine how you see “productive” work here. You can adjust how you value activities and pastimes to make them more holistic.
Believe that doing more of what you love is important.
3. Solve Any Bottlenecks
Sometimes, there’s a clear reason why we don’t do more of what makes us happy.
These are bottlenecks. So let’s nip them in the bud.
Some examples of bottlenecks include:
Time constraints
Costs (especially for expensive passions, like travel)
Environment (some passions may require a bigger space, for example)
Having the right tools
Education (some things require skill building)
Once you identify your bottlenecks, it’s time to find solutions for them.
For example, if costs are an obstacle, then starting a passion budget or reorganizing your expenses could be a solid starting point.
The less bottlenecks we have in our way, the more we'll be able to do what makes us happy.
4. Make It A Priority
Doing more of what you love requires consistency.
Ideally, we want to turn our passion(s) into a habit. So as a first step, I simply schedule in more time for my stuff. I make my passions a priority.
Doing more of what you love is a commitment that requires your active participation. Moving your schedule around to prioritize your passions is a key piece of the puzzle.
So make your things a priority and don’t feel guilty about making time for them.
Even if they don’t make you money and the people around you don’t quite understand you, just stay the course.
Emotion, passion and personal purpose aren’t arent clear, logical or easy to explain and understand.
So don’t worry what other people think and don’t think you’re wasting your time.
Doing more of what you love is important work. It boosts happiness and fulfillment, which is a part of success.
So make your passion(s) a priority – because they’re important.
5. Create A Purpose for Your Passions
When things have a purpose, I’m more likely to make time for them.
While enjoyment and personal fulfillment are enough of a reason to do something, having a more tangible purpose makes things even more powerful.
One of my favorite ways to make my passions more purposeful is attaching them to projects.
Projects add intention and meaning to stuff. They’re also more fun and boost creativity and motivation.
For example, creating a video project out of your travels or gamifying songwriting with monthly challenges are fun ways to turn an interest into a purpose.
So consider your goals and try to turn your hobbies or passions into a project.
It can be a short-term thing or a longer, multi-month (or even years-long) endeavor.
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6. Stack Your Cards
If you want to do more of what makes you happy, stacking the cards in your favor is a smart move.
This means adjusting aspects of your life to better match your goals and the ideal habits.
For me, I like to stack my deck in three ways:
My inner circle
The people in my life
My outer circle
The content I consume
My environment
The spaces I spend the most time in
If you want to do more things you love, start sculpting things in your life to better support those things.
The people we spend time with, the content we consume and the places we go all influence our behaviors, habits and motivation.
So change what you can, and slowly stack your cards in a better way.
7. Tilt the Scale (eventually)
For me, the ultimate goal is to spend most of my time doing what makes me feel alive.
Most of the things I work on and do every day support this milestone moment.
While we all have different goals, I believe tilting the scale to favor doing more of what you love is an awesome target for everyone.
This could mean simply changing your perspective from work-life balance to life-work balance. Or, it could mean turning yoru passions into a full-time career or side business.
Whatever your goal is, turning your passions into a long-term strategy is an awesome way to tilt the scale over time.
Eventually, you can buy back your time do more of what you love, more often.
That’s the dream and luckily it’s easier than ever (considering the internet and how easy it is for anyone to start a side gig or pursue a creative curiousity).
Just remember to stay patient and ignore the cliams of finding success in three month’s time.
While some caveats exist, building a successful brand or turning your passions into profit generally take more time (depending on your skills, the niche and your goals).
But whatever the outcome is, it’s an awesome journey and a great experience (even the setbacks or the failures).
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