April 27, 2007
Positive Psychology, Motorcycles and Happiness
Friends and family sometimes tell me I work too much.
It’s true I spend a lot of time at what conventionally would be called work: seeing clients in my private practice, teaching and seeing clients in alcohol and drug rehab, writing regular columns for two newspapers and a magazine, and writing for my very active website, Practical Psychology for Capable People. None of this feels like work, but it does demand a lot of time just like "real work" does.
I tell others all the time that they need downtime to relax, recuperate, recharge and expand their perspective. I tell them to pursue something they are passionate about, just so long as it has nothing to do with work and lifts their spirits and leaves them feeling positive.
After all, taking downtime and using it well is a piece of positive psychology.
But does Dr. Neill practice what he preaches? You be the judge.
One of the ways I get that positive charge when I want to be completely off the work radar is going for a ride on my motorcycle. And the longer the ride, the better!
I got back on two wheels last year after a fairly long drought during which we moved across the country and I started a new career.
I have had lots of different motorcycles. I bought a 250cc BSA when I was 14 for $35. I bought a beautiful silver-grey BMW R1200RT touring motorcycle two months ago at a somewhat riper age and for considerably more. The whole list is below just in case you are a motorcycle buff.
1947 250cc BSA
1948 500cc Triumph
1950s 175cc Vespa
1960s 700cc Royal
1976 900cc BMW R90/6
1970s 125cc CZ
1983 175cc Yamaha
1980 650cc Yamaha Seca
1985 1000cc BMW R100
2006 650cc BMW F650GS
2006 1200cc BMW R1200RT
I have had a life-long passion for riding motorcycles. My first really long trip was on my 1976 900cc BMW R90/6. Starting in central
The thing about something that you’re passionate about is that it never goes away. It seems to get into your blood. Just when you think it’s gone, it resurfaces. That’s what motorcycling has been for me.
One of the great things about a passionate interest is that when you indulge it, you feel more at peace with the universe and more alive. You spend most of your time in the present, without past trials or worries about the future. Your happiness coefficient is definitely up. You see the world through rose-colored glasses. You feel grounded and centered.
I would love to hear what your passion is when your mind and body are away from work? Please use the comments box below to tell the rest of us about your passion and how it affects you.
Search Tags: downtime Motorcycles motorcycling overwork passion positive psychology
5 Comments »
Robert :
When I ride, my individuality is on display for all the world to see.
Gayle :
I, too, am a motorcycle rider - I currently ride a 1999 Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster. My primary passion is long-distance solo touring, and at age 62, many people say I’m “nuts” to take off on my own and head for parts unknown. Those are the same people who tried to tell me I left it “too late” to go back to college at my age. I think those are the two sanest things I’ve ever done. Riding revitalizes me and allows me to let go of of the tension and stress from my schoolwork, and school settles me down in the off season, when I can’t ride, gives me something outside myself to focus on, and keeps me from truly going “nuts” from not being able to ride…
Gayle :
Oh, yeah, and I forgot to say what I’m studying: Counseling Psychology with a Specializaion in Addiction Studies.
Gayle :
Annnnd, I just realized that my very first solo long-distance motorcycle adventure was to your neck of the woods, Dr. Neill - In June of 2003 I rode up Highway 1/101/99 from the San Francisco Bay Area to Vancouver, where I spent a couple of days, then took the ferry to Nanaimo. I putted around the Island for a couple of days sightseeing, mostly along the Western Coast, met numerous other motorcyclists along the way, including several from Europe, then returned to Victoria and caught the ferry back to Port Angeles and blasted back home via Interstate 5. I really enjoyed that trip. It was a revelation. I was raised in Tacoma, Washington and had been to Vancouver a number of times in my youth, but never made it to the Island until this motorcycle trip. Lovely riding roads and weather. Very pleasant trip.
jeff greenspon :
Hi Neil - I searched “vintage bmw motorcycles” just for fun and hit your page. I ride a 1971 R75/5. I recently retired, built a teardrop trailer that handled the bike as well as camping duties and went on a 7,000 mile tour this summer. National Parks, and just staring at the campfire at night after a day of either hiking or riding do it for me. I’m still detoxing from the government system, but there’s hope. I also started flatpicking bluegrass guitar, and that DEFINITELY gets you right in the moment. No future, no past, just now! Have fun and look at some the older posts in my blog. I’ve been getting a little wordy recently. Older posts have more pics.