“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself.”
― Oscar Wilde
Lately when friends ask me what I’ve been up, I always start with “My guilty pleasure is…” because I’ve been playing a lot of mobile games. This phrase “guilty pleasure” captures my emotional state perfectly because I’m having fun and it feels like I’m doing something wrong.
I suspect this voice originates from my childhood. While play is celebrated for children before they enter school, after entering the school system, play and fun is a luxury to be enjoyed only after completing homework. This rule of work first, play later and all the positive and negative connotations still haunts me today.
It explains why I can’t fully enjoy playing mobile games even in my time off. Because this voice tells me I should be doing something “productive” with my time instead of wasting it on “unproductive” fun. “Productive” defined as side hustle/further education/improving my skills/the next achievement.
The problem, as my friend pointed out to me, is that as adults, there is no end to what counts as homework. If we’re not careful, we could live our whole lives doing homework and never getting to play. I don’t want to live like that.
I want to be more like the hedonists, where the purpose of life is the pursuit of pleasure. I give myself permission to have fun for the sake of fun. So here’s to letting go of guilt because pleasure for pleasure’s sake is enough.
Pssst…what are your guilty pleasures?