Five takeaways:
- This article draws a clear and pivotal distinction between pleasure, which Brooks views as a potentially harmful, short-term salve– and enjoyment, which can be far more productive and fulfilling.
- Brooks notes: “Pleasure happens to you; enjoyment is something that you create through your own effort. Pleasure is the lightheadedness you get from a bit of grain alcohol; enjoyment is the satisfaction of a good wine, properly understood.”
- Enjoyment can give you sense of effort, foreword movement, and accomplishment. Enjoyment is a commitment to engaging with and savoring a situation.
- The examples are everywhere, and as simple as exercise: We enjoy being fit, but exercise itself may not bring us pleasure, as it is strenuous and time-consuming.
- Pursuing enjoyment over pleasure makes you intentionally independent from base impulses and pushes you towards more insight and personal growth.
From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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