Core value · Joy family
Pleasure
Savouring the good things in life
Also covers Enjoyment
What does pleasure mean as a core value?
Pleasure as a core value means making time to enjoy and savour good things, like food, company, music and the outdoors, and treating enjoyment as worthwhile in itself.
Good coffee, a long lunch with friends, the first swim of summer, a book you can’t put down: you think these things matter, and you make time for them. Behind that is a conviction that life is there to be enjoyed as well as achieved, and that savouring is a skill. You notice taste, texture and atmosphere. And you’re a little suspicious of anyone who treats enjoyment as something you’re only allowed once the work is done.
What does pleasure look like in practice?
- You take a proper lunch break away from your desk, and you choose somewhere good.
- You plan holidays around food, landscapes and long afternoons with nowhere to be.
- You slow down to taste the wine or really listen to the music.
- You spend money on experiences before possessions.
- You protect time for a hobby purely because you love it.
When is pleasure overplayed?
Enjoyment turns sour when it becomes the default answer to discomfort. The extra glass, the purchase, the evening in front of a screen: pleasure used to dodge hard feelings or tedious tasks slides into escape. It can also lead you to drop the boring, necessary work that builds something longer lasting. The mature form savours without needing to. One way to keep it honest is to ask, in the moment, whether you’re choosing this because it’s good or because the alternative feels hard.
Often confused with
Pleasure vs Luxury
Luxury is about the finest, often most expensive, version of things. Pleasure can be found in a cheap tomato in season or a walk in the rain.
Pleasure vs Comfort
Comfort is ease and the absence of discomfort. Pleasure is active enjoyment, and sometimes it needs effort or a little discomfort, like a cold sea swim.
Pleasure vs Joy
Joy is a deeper, often unexpected lift. Pleasure is rooted in the senses and in experiences you choose and take time to savour.
Questions to sit with
- What gives you the most pleasure for the least cost, and how often do you actually do it?
- When did you last use enjoyment to avoid something you needed to face?
- What attitude to pleasure did you grow up with, and how much of it do you still agree with?
More values in Joy
Delight, lightness and enthusiasm for life.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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