Coaching practices for I Keep Judging Whether Something's for Me by Whether it Felt Fun in the Moment but Plenty of Things Feel Pleasant and Go Nowhere What I Can't Tell is Which Ones Actually Left Me Wanting to Dig Deeper Versus Just Feeling Nice While I Did Them
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For I Keep Judging Whether Something's for Me by Whether it Felt Fun in the Moment but Plenty of Things Feel Pleasant and Go Nowhere What I Can't Tell is Which Ones Actually Left Me Wanting to Dig Deeper Versus Just Feeling Nice While I Did Them, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I keep judging whether something’s for me by whether it felt fun in the moment, but plenty of things feel pleasant and go nowhere
- Plenty of what I do is pleasant enough but none of it feels like it matters, and that hollowness is wearing on me
- I keep spending my money on stuff
- My free hours go to things that are pleasant in the moment but leave me feeling a little empty after
- I keep choosing projects based on what I think will impress people or do well, and then I stall out halfway through because deep down they never actually moved me
Practices that may help
- Track what makes you ask questions, not what makes you feel good
Curiosity is a better signal for developing passion than pleasure.
Passion vs Interest: How to Actually Find Work You Love - Meaningful engagement
Spend regular time doing something that generates both positive emotion and a sense of purpose.
Building Positive Emotions, Made Practical - Spend on experiences rather than possessions
Experiences resist adaptation better than objects because they exist as memories that improve over time.
The Hedonic Treadmill, Made Practical - Spend time on activities that feel both meaningful and enjoyable
Activities that are both meaningful and enjoyable produce the highest time happiness — aim for the overlap.
Time Affluence Practices (Cassie Holmes) - Follow genuine interest, not strategic interest
Pursue the thing that genuinely excites you — even if you cannot explain why or see how it fits.
The Creative Act: Rick Rubin’s Approach to Making - Track how you actually feel during experiences, not just afterward
Memory of happiness is unreliable — what actually felt good during the experience matters more than the retrospective story.
Affect Forecasting: Why You Mispredicted How You’d Feel - Sharpen your senses to deepen the experience
Deliberately tune into one sensory channel at a time to get more from a pleasurable experience.
Savoring the Moment, Made Practical - Identify and reduce your personal savoring killers
Notice the mental habits that most reliably interrupt your positive experiences and address them specifically.
Savoring the Moment, Made Practical - Distinguish genuine interest from performed interest
Separate goals you are genuinely curious about from ones you believe you should be curious about.
Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical - Develop interest, don’t just wait to find it
Deepen passion through engagement over time rather than expecting instant fit.
Grit: Passion and Perseverance, Honestly Assessed
Related concerns
- When Expectancy Value Theory Interest Development
Interest is not fixed — it can be cultivated through basic understanding and early success experiences.
Develop interest in areas where it is currently absent
- When The Hedgehog Concept Passion Vs Energy Test
Passion is revealed by what energizes you after doing it — not by what you aspire to love.
Test passion with the energy-after test
- Curiosity Driven Work
Curiosity is a broadening emotion that expands attentional scope and drives exploratory behavior — it can be deliberately triggered.
Cultivate curiosity as a daily emotional practice
- Follow Your Interest
Paul O’Keefe and colleagues found that people who believe interests are fixed ("find your passion") tend to abandon pursuits when they get hard, while those who see interests as developed through effort stay curious and persistent. The evidence suggests "follow your passion" is not just unhelpful advice — it may actively discourage the effort that transforms shallow interest into deep, sustaining work.
- Follow Your Passion Research
Paul O’Keefe and colleagues found that people who believe interests are fixed ("find your passion") tend to abandon pursuits when they get hard, while those who see interests as developed through effort stay curious and persistent. The evidence suggests "follow your passion" is not just unhelpful advice — it may actively discourage the effort that transforms shallow interest into deep, sustaining work.
- How To Become Interested
Interest is not fixed — it can be cultivated through basic understanding and early success experiences.
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