Eyes Wide Open -"It doesn't get much better than this!!"

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I often ask my audiences when was the last time you heard those words come out of your mouth. What ever the ingredients were to bring on that feeling for you. Perhaps it was a great day on the slopes, the sun was shining, and you were making awesome turns, laughs with a good buddy. Or perhaps it was an evening with friends, the meal was delicious the wine was good, the conversation was meaningful. Better yet, you attend your kids Christmas concert and their slightly off singing voice came through loud and clear.

I don't believe we need to have 'as good as it gets' days everyday, but I do think we need a dozen or so per year. If you can honestly say you haven't said those words for some time, it's time to start evaluating how you see your days. I found myself running around to various appointments this morning, and as I hustled out of one meeting onto the next, I noticed the oddest noise when I came outside on my way to my car. First of all, I had not noticed the sun was shinning, it was bright, warm and refreshing on this winter morning. But there was this sound. It was birds singing. When I made the realization and woke up to the day I found myself slowing down. It is January 9th, the sun was shinning. How could have I already missed 4 hours of this marvellous day? How is it we humans get complacent and so into the day to day stuff of our lives that we fail to catch an awesome moment that is shinning in our face?

So many of us are wanting find more meaning in what we do and find more purpose to the endless hours we all bought into in the 80's and 90's. We find ourselves now asking: "What am I doing all the stuff for?" More importantly how do we find the answer to that main question? Here's what I have come to understand about human nature. All of us, whether we are conscious about it or not are all going after the same ultimate goal: Happiness. How each of us define happiness is as varied as there are people in the world. My answer to you is to sit down and define what the ingredients are for you that make you happy. Example: Good health, responsible kids, a beautiful home that greets you at the end of a day, loving relationship, your faith, good food, good wine, a great book????

You need to get specific with yourself and figure out the recipe for just you. How in the heck else are you ever going to find happiness, if you don't know what goes into the recipe? Take 30 minutes of quite reflection time. For those of you that work, take your self out to lunch and order something your really want and will enjoy. Sit, think and write out your recipe. You will be surprised how it starts to fall into place once you define it.

So here's my challenge to you. For the next 4 weeks, I want you to notice more around you. Don't just glaze over the details of your drive to work, really look at it. This will require that you turn off your radio so you will have no distractions. Listening to public radio doesn't count. Every time you see something different or interesting make a mental note about it. Tell someone at work about anything you find amusing. Have lunch one day at a spot that looks over something that's interesting. Go for a walk in a park and really smell the forest. Have lunch with a grandparent or a parent and ask them about their lives. Most importantly really listen.

Now don't panic, you only need to be more awake a handful of times over the next 4 weeks, and I guarantee you, once you have your "Happiness Recipe" defined one of these eyes wide open experiences will have you saying "It doesn't get much better than this". And you know what? It doesn't!