What is Your "Best" Day?
What are you happiest days?
What is your best day? Knee jerk answers often revolve around cold drinks on a beach with palm trees, some other form of relaxation, or a big event (wedding, birth of child, etc.) Yet when we really think about it, these days are often not our best, but are the reward of a whole lot of effort towards an outcome. Which means our best days are actually the days spent working towards the thing we think we want, not necessarily the end result.
Everything is Relative
Relaxing after a stressful project feels amazing - such a release! But after four days of relaxing people tend to get restless and are looking for the next exciting thing to take on.
Everything in life is relative. You can't have good days without having bad days to compare them too. Feeling relaxed is only possible (and so good) if you know what feeling "not relaxed" is.
We need these juxtapositions in order to feel the good things. Which is important to realize when you think about the ingredients needed for your joy.
We often state the best days of our lives are these big events or vacations (and maybe sometimes they are), but it is usually the process leading up to the event that makes it so special.
We'd all be happy winning the lottery. Yet I believe we would all be happier if a business that we put a lot of effort into sold for that amount. Why? Because when you earn something, it hits different and feels better.
Part of my vacation joy is in the planning and looking forward to it. Sure, if you surprised me tomorrow with a trip to Aruba I would go, but some of that pre-trip daydreaming would be lost.
At work, as much as we want the promotion, raise, or completed project, the end result only feels so good because you earned it. If you knew that every year you would be promoted regardless of your effort, would promotion day even rank as one of your best days?
Why does this matter? Because when you get clear about what REALLY makes you happy, you can build more of it into your life. You can start to enjoy more of the effort instead of only the outcome.
Mindset shifts change our life because our perception is our reality.
Busy times at work can feel better if you focus on how this work will allow you to enjoy your vacation even more, instead of hating everyday as you count down to your vacation.
Planning that big event can feel better if you focus on how valuable each step is instead of wishing the time away and hoping it would "just get here already".
And I'm sorry - but I don't buy it when people say their big promotion, passing the big exam, their wedding day, or the birth of their child was the best day of their life. NO IT WASN'T.
The outcome is something you wanted for a long time, so you say that the day was the "best day". There is nothing "good" about childbirth. It is awful, painful, and stressful. Bringing a child into this world is amazing - but not that day, trust me.
(I'm sure there are some readers who truly enjoyed childbirth, but I can't comprehend how so I will just respect their truth)
Weddings are usually the same - it is a blur. But being married to the love of your life is the outcome you wanted, so you say it was "the best day."
CPA Exam - same. Day of the exam I was stressed and shaking from the lack of sleep and amount of coffee I had in my system. Finding out I passed - great day - but the big exam - not good at all.
You get my drift.
Our best days are the days working towards something meaningful. They are the days we feel engaged, connected, valued, and heard. They are the days our actions are aligned with our values.
Our best days aren't overly stressful, but they aren't spent in bed sleeping the whole day away either.
Our best days aren't rushed. Our best days have enough time to do what we want with the people we enjoy, bring a sense of accomplishment, and allow us to savor the moment.
At least that is what I've discovered about myself.
What about you? What are your best days? What contributes to the experience and good feelings? Is it really just the day, or the juxtaposition of many other days leading up to it?
Get clear on what adds to the enjoyment of your best days and share it with me via email! I love hearing everyone's version, recognizing that there is enough room in this world for EVERYONE'S definition of best days.
You deserve to enjoy this life you are working so hard for.
Cheers to your BEST moments,
Sharon
Get Clear on Your BEST DAY
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