This Can Be A Good Life

Pedro Hoffmeister
2 min readMay 12, 2021

Do we always need change?

Photo by Adam Kool on Unsplash

I can do the same things forever:

  • Swim in a river
  • Play with dogs
  • Camp on an island
  • Read in the sun
  • Watch Scrub Jays
  • Fish from a bank
  • Write novels
  • Climb rocks
  • Lay in a hammock
  • Cook food with my family
  • Hug friends
  • Bike around the neighborhood barefoot
  • Look at the stars

These activities bring me joy. They’re simple and repeatable.

I have so many friends and work colleagues who are trying to change their lives, figure out new things, buy new things, change their homes’ decor, switch out cars, go to new places on the weekend, do different adventures, eat at new restaurants, mix it up.

This isn’t necessarily good or bad, it’s just a different choice than I make. I do the same things day in and day out, year after year, and I can honestly say I’m really happy. My favorite things don’t cost money and they all relieve stress.

I constantly see personal improvement messages and essays and websites. But I don’t usually see the advice to pick a few simple activities that are free — that cost nothing — and do those things over and over. Build a repetitive, joyful life.

Because our lives can be good, and they can also be very simple.

I guess I’m asking: Do we always need change?

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Pedro Hoffmeister

Author with Random House. TBI survivor who struggles. Poet. Climber. Former Writer-In-Residence of Joshua Tree National Park. Podcast: “Boring Is A Swear Word”