Everyone has favorites. Some of those favorites may be activities or items you engage with every day and some of those items may be once a week, once a month, or once a year items. Today I am moved to make a favorites list since my favorites bring me happiness and I have to plan for some of my favorites.
Favorite foods and drinks:
- Everyday: coffee, water, veggies
- Once or a few times a month: ice cream, smoothies, peanuts, pistachios, hamburgers, seafood
- Once, twice, or a few times a year:
- fried clams
- lobster
- ice cream sundae
- corn on the cob
- steamed clams
- chocolate
- red meat
Favorite activities
- Everyday: writing, watching good shows, reading articles, playing online Scrabble, talking to friends and relatives, planning, cooking/baking, gardening, creating/making, imagining
- Once or a few times a month: visiting friends and family, going to places of interest, outdoor adventures, celebrations, exploration of new and familiar places
- Once, twice, or a few times a year: travel, house updates, special celebrations, holidays, family reunions
Favorite items
- Everyday: favorite coffee mug, computer, iPhone, favorite blankets, garden tools, plants, cooking tools, writing/drawing tools, good books, bike, car, good shoes, comfy clothes
- Once or a few times a month:
- Once, twice, or a few times a year: swimming floatie, rental kayak/other boats, rental electric bike
Favorite places
- Everyday: my home and garden
- Once or a few times a month: drives with Dad and others, hikes in nearby woods/beaches/mountains/lakes/rivers/oceans/cities, local museums, local botanical gardens, nearby cities and towns
- Once, twice, or a few times a year: the theater, Maine, Vermont
- Once, twice, or a few times in a decade: Canada, travel to faraway places
Favorite people
- Everyday: my family, friends
- Once or a few times a month: friends and family who don't live close or have very busy lives
- Once, twice, or a few time a year: other friends and family who don't live close
- Once, twice, or a few times a decade: friends at college reunions, extended family meet-ups for special occasions or because I've traveled to their part of the world
It's good to have an idea of what matters to you because when you know what you enjoy, you're more apt to schedule those events and include those places, items, and people in your daily, monthly, or yearly schedule. For example, just realizing how much I enjoy a delicious lobster dinner on the coast of Maine ensures that I'll plan a trip to make that happen about once a year.
Also knowing what those you love enjoy helps you to choose just-right gifts and special events to enjoy their company and honor their personal choices and interests.
