Don’t pick the tasks that are quick or easy. Offer to do all the things you’re good at.

The research is conclusive: doing what you’re good at is the key to happiness:

Americans also gain a boost in positive emotions the more they use their strengths. The more hours per day adults believe they use their strengths, the more likely they are to report having ample energy, feeling well-rested, being happy, smiling or laughing a lot, learning something interesting, and being treated with respect.

Read more: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/02/love-what-you-do/

i love the concept of the IKEA effect.

"Why is IKEA furniture so popular? Research shows we love things more when we invest ourselves in them."

i read my picture book, joone, at schools.  when i first started doing it, i was disappointed because the kids didn't really care and the teachers just saw it as a 20-minute break for themselves.  but when i brought along coloring sheets to give to the kids after the reading, they made class projects out of it. when the kids brought the sheets home that they had so carefully colored, they told their parents about the author visit and their parents hung their art on the fridge.  their art became part of their life, and joone actually became a part of them.  making that investment was the extra push to get joone to stick with them.  and now their own art is what makes them joone fans!

That is a great story, and it makes a lot of sense, Emily.

What we get out of an experience is what we put into that experience.