Doing without means questioning the familiar and renouncing dependencies. Of course, it takes courage to get involved – maybe even outside of Lent. Whether renunciation makes everyone happy or not – in any case it trains self-discipline. And self-control, in turn, makes people happy, a German-American research team has discovered. According to this, people experience more positive feelings and are happier with their lives when they have good control of themselves – and can postpone needs in order to achieve another, important goal.
All of the studies showed that those who often gave up satisfying their spontaneous cravings felt more well-being and were happier with their own lives than those who always allowed themselves everything – the latter lost the enjoyment. This would scientifically prove what the philosopher Martin Heidegger once said: “renunciation does not take, renunciation gives.”
Easter egg hunt soon Julia Evers only becomes vegan when there is more time for menu planning.
The good news first: Those who live vegan don’t have less. No less taste, no fewer dishes. On the contrary, the only thing vegans really need is more – more time to plan, to shop, to cook.
At least that’s what my self-experiment showed. I lived without meat, dairy products and eggs for almost six weeks, invitations were exempt from the vegan rule. What I missed the most was the shot of milk in the coffee – although there are plenty of substitutes and alternative products, they are neither handbag-friendly nor available in all places where I normally like to drink coffee. Apart from that, this year I’m not only looking forward to the Easter egg hunt and the pecking – also to biting into it.
common everyday life, Barbara Rohrhofer wanted to do without the car more often during Lent.
“Giving up can feel really good, it can be fun,” I said at first, swapping my car for the bus on my daily commute to work. Lo and behold: I immediately gained time to daydream while looking out the window during the bus ride. Life got in the way of me in mid-March – in the form of toothache and visits to the doctor, spontaneous children’s pick-up campaigns and Corona shopping for relatives, which I – I swear (!) – could only do by car. At one point I almost forgot to take the bus until last week a neighbor asked me what happened to my resolution… I almost felt a bit guilty and then got back on the bus. Because it’s not a sacrifice, it’s good for you.
And on we go Valerie Hader does without convenience – and goes for a walk every evening.
I’m going into extra time – in the truest sense of the word: I missed ten days due to quarantine and will probably continue my fasting resolution of going for a half-hour walk every evening until after Easter. But I have to admit: It wasn’t that easy after the enforced break to resume the routine we had already worked in!
The article about a new study, according to which just 20 minutes of exercise in the fresh air is enough to prevent many diseases, helped. Anyone who goes out into the fresh air after a hard day at work also reduces stress hormones and pours out feelings of happiness. You’ll also sleep a lot better, research says. I can only confirm that – and I’ll probably just keep going. And who knows, maybe even forever?
happily failed, Dietlind Hebestreit had planned to only eat and drink Austrian food until Easter.
I fainted: there is a mug of coffee next to the keyboard. When it came to drinks, I threw my fasting plan overboard. I just can’t do without coffee, cola, green and black tea.
I’m stricter when it comes to eating. Eating Austrian meat, dairy products, pasta, bread and eggs is easy. Ready meals don’t work at all, but they weren’t to my taste before. Although: a frozen pizza here and there…
When it came to vegetables, I bought a lot of local produce – fennel, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, various roots such as carrots or parsnips. Only: what is available in the supermarket is a matter of luck. Sometimes I go home with five kinds, sometimes just two. And I’ve given up planning. Because exactly the ingredients that I need come from Spain or Italy of all places.
Things are sparse in my favorite organic shop in Eidenberg: At this time of year, they only sell typical winter vegetables. It’s not easy with sweets either: there’s nothing there anyway: chocolate without cocoa doesn’t work. Processed things like gummy bears cannot be traced. My solution: dried plums.
I have developed a deep gratitude for everything that we have from other countries and that I can finally enjoy again after Easter: olive oil, lemons, oranges, vanilla and cinnamon, spices such as pepper, sometimes chocolate, avocado, nuts or the above mentioned drinks make me really happy. Conclusion: I would love to have a lot of Austrian things in the future! But garnished with good things from all over the world.
The desire for new clothes increases with every degree on the thermometer, Ulrike Griessl plans to stop buying clothes, bags and shoes in 2022.
“Ulli, now I’ll buy you a pair of pants so you don’t have to walk around in that old thing from the 70s anymore,” a colleague recently said to me with a wink. I laughed and said, “The ’70s are back anyway.” But then I snuck a look down at myself to see if the pants really looked too old-fashioned. Somehow yes, revealed the stern look.
And suddenly it was there, the irrepressible desire to buy new pants, although my colleague (who of course knows about my challenge) just wanted to tease me. But the thought of whether there was a grain of truth in the comment stuck with me.
Said trousers have to pay for it now. Since then, it has been eking out its existence in the furthest corner of the box. And the remaining blouses, trousers and dresses in the closet are now strictly checked according to the criterion “still wearable” before they are taken off the hanger. So far, every morning something has been found that has passed the test. But the desire for something new increases with every degree on the thermometer. And so several times a week I look through my fabrics that I have bought over the past few years to indulge in my hobby, sewing. Four T-shirts and a jacket have already been created. And I’m sure there will be a few more tracks. Because until the end of the year it is still very, very long.
Source: Nachrichten
