# Good sedentary habits for your sense of well being?



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

You can just answer the title of the thread. What are some things you do by yourself that contribute to your sense of well being? Talking about myself, I'm curious to take a survey of the habits of people who are better at using their own time and "puttering" so to speak, than I am. I try to read and practice piano, that's my ideal of things that would contribute to my sense of well being, and I wish these things that have practical value would, but I'm afraid they often just stress me out. I don't know why this is. 

I personally feel that I don't have enough of these things in my life, and its a struggle to incorporate new consistent self imposed hobbies, I struggle with this impossible stubbornness. It may be that I'm one of those people who needs social interaction and doesn't yet know myself well enough to work with my strengths rather than fighting to improve my weaknesses. But for an example, I think of reading novels as being something healthy and stimulating that I could be doing, but I have difficulty doing it because I was immersed in a world of instant gratification with TV and video games for long enough that it makes transitioning back into reading difficult, so difficult as a matter of fact that I haven't had ease reading novels for the last two years, but still have forced myself repeatedly. 

I'm perhaps confusing productive with what is actually stimulating and relaxing for me. I wish I could find something that was well suited to me, if it does turn out that its impossible to "suit myself" for things like reading and piano. I've been thinking about a post Science made in which he said, "Life is not an Intelligence Contest." Perhaps I do the things like reading and piano practice partly out of a need to feel intelligent, but I also do these things because I have a piano teacher who really likes these things and I frankly want to incorporate the better parts of his lifestyle into my own. Perhaps I still am trying to force a mould over myself that won't fit. Nonetheless, thinking about science's quote, I could probably try to fixate a little less on "productive" and "self improving" hobbies and somehow try to find what really goes with my grain and makes me happy and then the self improvement will come in unexpected ways? Courageous leap of faith that would take. I wish I could take on this mindset more easily, but I'm really stubborn. 

Delving into my personal situation more for those who would respond to it, I've just made plans to read a novel and finish a piano piece. I have it in my head that I want to read five classic novels in a reasonable span of time, maybe three months, and learn five Medtner pieces. I feel like I'm condemning myself though. Yet I never achieve my goals, its depressing.


----------



## Dodecaplex (Oct 14, 2011)

Studying.


----------



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Dodecaplex said:


> Studying.


Its not easy is it?


----------



## Dodecaplex (Oct 14, 2011)

clavichorder said:


> Its not easy is it?


Oh, I love studying actually. What I don't love is my lack of focus. I tend to promise myself I'll do this and that, and a few months later, I've still done **** all.

Discipline is the key, you see. Discipline.


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

As for reading classic novels, that is rarely possible for me these days. I've spent a lifetime reading myself to sleep. Like Pavlov's dogs I fall asleep immediately on opening a book. I can read non-fiction however. I do better with audiobooks. Most of the public domain classics are available as audiobooks at no charge from Librivox.org. Though you must put up with some amateurish readers, many are quite good, and all are better at reading aloud than I would be I think. This is a great way for me to get housework done and to be entertained at the same time.

What I really need to be doing is illustration work. I can't seem to make any headway toward that these days having a full time day job. My plan is to start an art journal or blog and make it public in the hopes this will keep me driven to complete my projects. I will need to reduce my participation in these forums when I get it up and running. There is nothing quite like the feeling of being immersed in artwork to be invigorated, focused, and relaxed at the same time.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Glad you specified 'sedentary'; it excludes splitting and stacking firewood. That activity was very therapeutic/mentally relaxing, back when I could do it for more than 10 minutes. The combination of sweat, tired muscles, and obvious accomplishment evokes one of my old coworker's favorite words: "Salubrious". It may be the only four syllable word I ever heard him say.

That path to well being is unavailable to me in my dotage, as is what I think of as _'happy sex'_. I won't elaborate on that; you know if you've experienced it. Hmm, I suppose that isn't sedentary either.

Well shucks, is reading a good book or listening to music all I have left...?

Well, there goes my feeling of well being for today.


----------



## CountessAdele (Aug 25, 2011)

I practice my singing exercises, and try to study some music theory. I listen to music all the time but I really crank it up when I go about cleaning, helps get the job done. I enjoy studying much more now than I used to now that I'm taking subjects I'm actually interested in. I haven't read a novel in months, though I do read alot more articles, there just doesn't seem to be enough time. Thats it for my sedentary habits, I like to go out for walks a lot and there's a state park I go to for hikes, maybe you should think about incorporating some non sedentary habits?


----------



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Maybe social things are much more effective with "sense of well being", but sedentary things for your "sense of accomplishment" is more appropriate here, and your sense of accomplishment ultimately contributes to your sense of well being. I'm seeing that many of the people here struggle with a similar thing in this regard no? But I'm pleased to see that its possible to enjoy studying.


----------



## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

My sedentary activities include my television exposure including movies and such...after that, it's pretty much all hobbies and things I enjoy doing. I plant exotic palms that can sometimes barely grow here because they are truly equatorial and highly tropical...then, I watch them grow and gain much pleasure from watching them change constantly. One of these is my chambeyronia macrocarpa,...more commonly known as red feather palm or flame thrower palm. First off, it only opens a new frond about four or five times a year...and when it does, it cracks open a bright and magnificent red and looks unbelievable. After about a week and a half the red slowly turns to green.

Installing audio systems in cars and in homes is extremely relaxing and rewarding for me. I've really posted most of this stuff in one of the older hobby threads.

Then, there's music and singing. I get to do these in front of people and, in turn, that is how I make a living. It's the most relaxing thing I can imagine and I do it with friends and surrounded by close friends that come out each gig. I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Before that, although I played the entire time...I worked for about ten years at a planetarium; creating shows for the public and giving daily lectures on naked eye astronomy and creating more shows and doing so many great things that didn't seem like work at all.

The one thing I think I can never go back to is normal work. Office = death, to me.


----------



## TrazomGangflow (Sep 9, 2011)

Good sedentary habits for well being? Let's see. Practicing piano and violin. I also enjoy reading nonfiction history books but I seem to have a lack of concentration: Read 3 pages do something else. Read 5 pages do something else.


----------



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

@ KV

Seems like you have a lot of good things going on.


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

clavichorder said:


> @ KV
> 
> Seems like you have a lot of good things going on.


Yeah. Enjoying your work is a fine situation to be in. I was fortunate that way too - pretty much.


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

kv466 said:


> The one thing I think I can never go back to is normal work. Office = death, to me.


Wise decision. I wish I had never gone over to the safe mundane side of employment. I am actually heartbroken about it. I am financially more stable now, but I'll never regret being a freelancer when I was young enough to really enjoy it.


----------



## presto (Jun 17, 2011)

The only time I’m sedentary is either sitting at the PC or listening to music, other than that I’m on the go most of the time.
I’m firm believer in being physical active as much as you can be. 
I workout very hard, walk everywhere and actually go out of my way to make a physical effort in doing something, like using stairs rather than lifts.
I believe that is the real way to "well being." Once you get the blood moving round your body and getting the heart pumping you feel like a million pounds, (or dollars if you like.)


----------



## violadude (May 2, 2011)

presto said:


> The only time I'm sedentary is either sitting at the PC or listening to music, other than that I'm on the go most of the time.
> I'm firm believer in being physical active as much as you can be.
> I workout very hard, walk everywhere and actually go out of my way to make a physical effort in doing something, like using stairs rather than lifts.
> I believe that is the real way to "well being." Once you get the blood moving round your body and getting the heart pumping *you feel like a million pounds*, (or dollars if you like.)


Heh heh, considering that I am here in the US, where a million pounds means super extra fat, this part of your post seemed super contradictory when I first read it.  Good thing I kept reading.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

presto said:


> The only time I'm sedentary is either sitting at the PC or listening to music, other than that I'm on the go most of the time.
> I'm firm believer in being physical active as much as you can be.
> I workout very hard, walk everywhere and actually go out of my way to make a physical effort in doing something, like using stairs rather than lifts.
> I believe that is the real way to "well being." Once you get the blood moving round your body and getting the heart pumping you feel like a million pounds, (or dollars if you like.)


Sedentary lifestyle is the death of us, some say coupled with a diet with excess saturated fats, refined carbs and sugars etc. Your post that encourga us to move around as much as we can is the promise I've set out to do every year. I jog about 4km to 5km daily or near daily if I am physically travelling instead. And you do feel a million pounds sterling afterwards with this consistency (a million pounds sterling is worth more than a million dollars, so I prefer pounds sterling ). It's easy once you get into the routine of it.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I'm a musician, I don't have to worry about health. :tiphat: 

That is...

I think 2+ hours a day simply _standing _should count as exercise, plus having your arms up for about that length of time too (and more for sitting in rehearsal), and all the extra breathing and finger movement. I am hence a great stander, I have really good stamina for it now.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Standing while moving ones arms rapidly must be healthy, because all of those conductor guys live to be 98 or so.


----------



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I'm a musician, I don't have to worry about health. :tiphat:
> .


Really? If I take this literally, maybe I should work harder on musical endeavors...


----------



## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Drinking...


----------



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Couchie said:


> Drinking...


Well being? Genuine sense of well being?


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Quote Originally Posted by Couchie
"Drinking..."



clavichorder said:


> Well being? Genuine sense of well being?


The _sense_ of well being is genuine, it's the well being that ain't.


----------

