“Some people aren’t serious about personal development – Instead of listening to audiobooks, they listen to music when they are driving,” says a self-help guru, “Every night before I go to bed, I always think about what else I can do to be more productive.”
In this article, I will explain why I don’t necessarily agree with this self-help guru. How do you spend most of your free time? Do you focus on education or entertainment in your free time? If you would like to date an Eastern European woman, you have to know the way she spends her free time and the way you spend your free time are compatible!
- The way you spend your spare time indicates your true values.
How you spend your free time implies what’s important to you. I understand that the above-mentioned self-help guru has a good point. According to this guru, people who were born in middle-class families lack a sense of urgency. In fact, I think this guru is very growth-driven, motivated, and hardworking. I really admire his work ethic.
But personal development isn’t just about working harder and achieving more. It’s a comprehensive process that also includes looking after your mental health.
Best-selling author Kate Northrup argues that overworking is actually a trauma response, i.e., if someone is traumatized, this person is more likely to work extremely hard in order to numb the pain – when this individual isn’t busy, he/she feels the pain. That’s exactly why many people who suffer from anxiety feel worse on weekends and public holidays!
From Eastern European women’s perspective, it’s important to strike a balance: You need to spend time working on yourself and learning new knowledge/skills; meanwhile, you also need to spend some time exploring your hobbies that don’t need to be monetized. As a matter of fact, I met a well-known psychologist from Taiwan who told me that psychology can only cure the symptoms of mental health issues, whereas literature, art, and religion can cure the root cause of mental health problems. Indeed, American author Charlie Hoehn even wrote a book called Play It Away: A Workaholic’s Cure for Anxiety in which he describes the importance of play – it cures anxiety very effectively. Therefore, entertainment certainly has its tremendous value that shouldn’t be ignored.
- Combine education with entertainment.
As I see it, you’d better combine entertainment with education because a multi-dimensional man is an attractive man!
For example, Charles is an interior designer who really enjoys his work. He says he plays for a living because his job brings him tremendous joy. He is a great example of work-play integration as he makes a living by doing what makes him happy. After work, he reads a chapter of a self-help book every night because personal development is important to him. But every weekend, he spends two days exploring his hobbies: music and art. Currently, he is dating an Eastern European woman who also likes reading, music and art. They have shared values.
Clearly, Charles and his girlfriend are able to strike the balance by spending quality time together reading books and exploring music & art. Their shared value system is really good for their relationship.
“Yes, a relationship is actually about how you spend your spare time together as a couple. Make sure your values and your girlfriend’s values are at least compatible!”
