A Failure to Prioritize Pleasure

When people come to therapy, wanting to be happier, it is quite common for me to hear how they’d like to spend more time writing, dancing, singing, painting, etc. Yet, when we talk about why they aren’t doing those things, they voice how they don’t have enough time, energy, or money. "Still, I wonder if more women artists, musicians and writers aren't household names because we don't have enough faith in our own pursuits to give ourselves the time we desperately need to be transformed by a creative vision. Maybe that glass ceiling isn't really made of glass at all, but of sticky little fingers, dishes piled in the sink, and mortgages that demand two incomes." I share this quote by Holly Robinson Peete because I hear too often that we prioritize everything other than what makes us happy. Chores, kids, earning enough money at a risk-free job all take precedence. Prioritizing those things isn’t wrong - we all have difference values, resources, and skills. However, I can’t help but to wonder if we value our own happiness and creative talents far too little in the grand scheme of life. Isn’t happiness the reason we do all of those things? If they aren’t making you happy, then maybe not as much time and effort should be spent on them. Maybe the pursuit of happiness is worth sacrificing other things in one’s life.

"Still, I wonder if more women artists, musicians and writers aren't household names because we don't have enough faith in our own pursuits to give ourselves the time we desperately need to be transformed by a creative vision. Maybe that glass ceiling isn't really made of glass at all, but of sticky little fingers, dishes piled in the sink, and mortgages that demand two incomes."

~ Holly Robinson Peete