I used to call it the triple benefit of doing the thing you enjoy.

There is the immediate benefit of enjoying the activity in the moment. Be it walking, cycling, climbing running or knitting if you actively enjoy doing something there’s a benefit.

But, there is also the benefit of the memory of doing that activity. You might be in stuck in traffic, sat in an office or whatever and then you’ll remember that walk you did in the sun or the rain, the people you were with and the laughs you had and the thirst quenching pint after. These memories can help get you through some difficult times.

Then, there is the benefit of looking forward to doing it again. The anticipation, the excitement, the planning leading up to that next walk, it gives you something to get you through that meeting, traffic jam, divorce or whatever just to experience it all again.

More recently I’ve come to understand there is a fourth benefit in doing something that takes you out of your comfort zone. And that is knowing how far you can push yourself. It’s that knowing of how deep you are willing to dig to achieve a goal. By putting yourself in unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations your are able to get a true measure of what it is your are really capable of.

No matter what it is, just get out there and do it, enjoy!