The Pleasure Seeker prioritizes pleasure and enjoyment in the here and now. Your pitfall is that hedonism, greed or impulsiveness can get the best of you at times, but you’re also someone who enjoys life to the fullest, an admirable quality!

You’re probably a Pleasure Seeker if:
• You save less than 5 percent of your income. When you’re feeling flush, you tend to buy things that aren’t necessary to your basic lifestyle.
• Your debts exceed your assets, perhaps because you’ve purchased multiple items on credit. You opt to postpone payments until next year to satisfy your desire to enjoy something new sooner rather than later.
• Your investments, if you have them, tend to be in vacation homes, art collections, fine wines, jewelry, restaurants, or other collectibles.
• You regularly engage in “retail therapy” when you’re feeling low, spending beyond your budget on items that are not necessities.
• Your spending on luxury items creates tension in your relationship with your spouse or partner.

Painful Emotional States
Hungry
Greedy
Impatient
Self-Absorbed

Common Distorted Thoughts (Conditioned Beliefs from the Past)
What I want and will enjoy is more important than what I might need.
I want to live for today.

Liberating Wisdom or Ways to Focus
Living within my means and taking care of my future creates a very real albeit different kind of pleasure for me and those I love.

Archetype(s) You Most Need to Emphasize to Create Balance
Guardian: alertness, prudence
Saver: self-sufficiency, abundance

A Practice

A DAY OF REST
Pleasure Seekers need to make a paradigm shift, finding different ways to experience pleasure in their daily lives. Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of many best-selling books, including When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough: The Search for a Life That Matters, reminds us of the importance of taking a day of rest from wanting. Many religious traditions have a sabbath, which can also be a time to take a break from money. Try this: once this week, whatever day you choose, commit to twenty-four hours in which you will not handle money in any way. Buy groceries ahead of time; pay your bills another day. Avoid handing out cash or using credit. But this should not be a day when you become an ascetic. Find other ways to enjoy life. Why not play with a child, get out in nature, listen or dance to music you already own, or read a great book? Whatever it is, find sources of pleasure that don’t require you to transact. There are many ways to feed your senses without ever spending a dime. Be creative!

To do more specific practices related to the Pleasure Seeker, buy my book or attend a workshop.