Want to make today a better day? It’s not that hard, it just takes a little prep work.
It won’t take long, but you do need five minutes in a place where you can sit quietly. You’ll also need a pen and paper (you can type, but pen and paper work better).
Sit down and picture something that makes you happy… happy like the baby in the picture. If you want an example, here’s one from my own life: making a daddy sandwich. That’s when my wife lays on one side of me, with her head on my shoulder, and my daughter lays on my other side, with her head on my other shoulder.
Visualize it as clearly as you can in your mind… sight, sound, smells, touch, even the way it makes you feel (as in emotions). While you’re visualizing that, write it down. The visualizing and the writing reinforce each other… writing it down sets the memory more clearly, while the memory associates with the actual written words (which is why a pen and paper work better).
When you have it written down, repeat the process to find at least two more things… five is better, but you don’t want to go overboard, because if you get to having too many items, it will dilute the power of each one. Now, if you did use pen and paper, fold up the paper and take it with you.
When something bad happens during the day, pull out your list and bring one of those memories back. When something notably good happens, do the same. If you have a few minutes when you’re not doing anything, bring it out again.
When you do it isn’t important… just spending the time to really remember something that truly makes you happy takes all (or at least a lot) of the sting out of something bad happening, and makes something good even better.
If your happy memories involve your family, it also makes you feel closer to them. Whatever they involve, though, it brings more happiness into today than would have otherwise been there.
Which, of course, makes today a better day.
By the way, here’s my list (at least for today):
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Making A Daddy Sandwich
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My First Hug From My Wife When I Get Home
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My Daughter’s Arms Wrapped Around My Neck When She First Wakes Up
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Seeing Happiness And Excitement In My Son’s Face
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Quiet Time With My Wife
That’s mine… can you tell that I’m a family man? Does anyone else feel like sharing? Sometimes just reading what makes other people happy can bring up related memories of your own that make you happy, too.
