I'm not saying that we should try to abstain from any kind of pleasure, so we can live a boring and dull life. But, we should look at pleasure the same we we look at drugs or any other habit-forming substance in the world.
Re-affirming Ideas
I find myself in a situation many times where I read something or watch something that gets my mind firing on all cylinders, but slowly the positive effects of whatever it was that I learned begin to fade, and I need to then go back to re-affirm these old ideas, and put them back into practice.
Upon revisiting certain information, it usually lasts much longer and I see myself incorporating those thoughts into my daily life much easier.
A few years ago I saw this video of George Lucas speaking about his life leading up to studying film and creating Star Wars. It's really interesting, and I've heard countless stories of him, his life, and the work the whole crew went through to bring those films to life.
I find the whole process they went through so interesting. That's not what this post is about though
As he is near the end of his talk, he drops the biggest bombshell, and it blew my mind, as it was something I never put much thought into.
He starts to talk about the difference between pleasure and joy, and why you should never let yourself get addicted to pleasure, and instead seek out joy.
George Lucas says all of this so nonchalantly and in only 11 minutes - as if he isn't giving probably one of the most inspiring speeches I'd heard in a very long time.
The Difference Between Pleasure and Joy
Pleasure and Joy, to be honest, I never really saw much of a difference between the two.
It's not that I never knew there was a difference, instead, it was more so that I never gave them much thought.
As he says in the speech, however, "Pleasure is purely selfish, and a self-centered emotion. It's about your pleasure. Joy on the other hand you can share with other people, you can bring joy to someone else's life, or take some joy in other people's happiness."
He also draws a parallel between the feeling of pleasure and drug use. Because of how tense of an emotion it is, it peaks high, and then you try to chase that high when the feelings go.
"Joy, on the other hand, doesn't peak as high as pleasure, but it lasts longer, and you recall the feeling of joy."
Considering it is longer lasting, and much easier to recall, and enjoy weeks, months, or even years after, I do think focusing on that emotion is better.
Pleasure
One thing he mentioned in the speech is that you'll never relive the experience of buying your first car, that's your peak. Buying a bunch of sports cars and a private jet will feel good, but it won't be the same feeling as buying the first.
That's such a good way of looking at it, because it's so true, and at that, there are plenty of other examples.
Impulse buying doesn't really fill me with pleasure, instead I kind of feel guilt and regret whenever I buy anything. It sounds stupid, but it's true.
Even buying a piece of camera equipment a few weeks ago filled me with a slight amount of regret. I always have this creeping voice in the back of my head which wonders what else I could have bought instead - even though it's useful, I enjoy using it, and it was worth the money.
It's kind of good in a way, because it means that I'll most likely never be the sort of person to buy destructively.
One thing I've noticed though is that when I purchase something for someone else I don't give it a second thought, I just don't like buying for myself, I guess.
There are so many things throughout my life that has bought me joy, and I think naturally, I tend to aim towards that emotion, and I can tend to be fairly generous and selfless with people, so in a way I do try to bring it into other peoples lives.
But, this popped into my head and I thought I'd write about the difference between the two. It's always good to re-affirm and reflect on these types of ideas.