People are often told when they’re feeling down, depressed, or lacking motivation to be more active.
The most common advice is to go for a walk.
However, consider this: maybe I dislike taking walks. I find it hard to imagine anything more boring than walking. However, I might love to ride my bike.
If I’m feeling depressed or low and I dislike walking but enjoy biking, which activity should I engage in more?
I would likely choose bike rides!!
If you’re feeling low or depressed and not doing as much as you would like, critically evaluate the advice you receive.
It is often well-intentioned, but take the time to contemplate what you genuinely enjoy doing.
Don’t blindly follow what others suggest. It’s important to be active, but find activities that you enjoy. If the activity you choose carries the added benefit of being social, that’s even better!
The take-home message is this: Don’t force yourself to do something you don’t enjoy; that’s not helpful.
Activities that have personal significance to us have a much greater potential to elicit meaning out of life 
NOTE: The short blog post above is a duplication of a LinkedIn post I made, but as I know many of the people who read my blog don’t use LinkedIn, I figured I’d keep a version of record here as well!
The post Don’t Just Walk… Embrace What You Enjoy! first appeared on Jón Ingi Hlynsson.