Heal me Today

While reading all those motivational books, I noticed a common piece of advice: “Start doing what brings you joy and makes you feel fulfilled.” But what if we don’t know what that is anymore? What if we’re so immersed in stress, routine, or negativity that nothing seems to spark joy?

I’ll be honest—this self-reflective exercise was really challenging for me. Not because I don’t want to be happy, but because I’d never stopped to truly think about it. For years, I was just running on autopilot—family, home, work, repeat. No time to pause. No space to ask myself “What do I actually enjoy?”

One evening, I took a notebook, sat down, closed my eyes, and tried to remember what I used to love doing. To my surprise, quite a few things came to mind. One of them was solving puzzles—crosswords, riddles, brain teasers, anything that challenged my mind and gave me a sense of satisfaction.

Not long ago, I stumbled upon an Instagram post about quiz nights held in Bratislava. As fate would have it, a former colleague of mine used to help organize them. I reached out, curious about how it all worked. A few days later, there was going to be a quiz night with the theme “Friends.” Being a huge fan of the show, I couldn’t resist. I didn’t have a team, but my former colleague kindly offered to join me.

We played as a duo, and for a while we were even in third place! We eventually finished fourth, but that didn’t matter—it was such a fun, uplifting experience. It reminded me how good it feels to do something just for myself, something light and playful that still sparks my brain.

Since then, I’ve decided to keep going, to say “yes” more often to these small adventures. And I want to encourage you to do the same. Don’t be afraid to try new things, even if you don’t have a group to go with—there are so many communities out there, especially online, where you’ll feel welcome and connected. And who knows? You might meet amazing people who share your interests.

So, tell me—do you enjoy quizzes too? Would you ever try something like this?