Be a seeker of everyday magic.
This quote was an important reminder for both me and my husband this week. While we ate lunch the other day, we chatted about our plans for the coming week, and Ryan told me he felt frustrated because he kept looking at his summer vacation from a “glass half empty” viewpoint.
Rather than thinking to himself, “I still have six weeks of vacation before I start teaching again!” he instead looks at each day thinking, “well, that’s one more day of vacation gone.”
Can you relate to this sentiment? I know I can.
It is so easy to focus on the negative: the list of things you didn’t get accomplished, or the looming work awaiting you in the not-too-distant future.
How to Appreciate Every Day: Motivation Monday
To combat this negative thinking, we decided to try a couple of different approaches.
First of all, we’re going to seek out the magic in every day.
To do this, we’ve taken some time every night during dinner to talk about something good that happened that day, something for which we are thankful, and something that made us smile or laugh. It is so easy to let the negative dominate the positive, but when we stop, pause, and reflect, it helps us highlight those magical moments and bring them to the foreground.
The other thing we are trying to do is embrace the summer.
I realize this might sound like a tall order, but it really isn’t. What I mean is simply doing one thing, big or small, that you might not have time for during the busy school year.
For us, this might be grilling dinner and eating out on the deck, going for an evening stroll together, or catching a matinee movie during the week, simply because we can. (If you’re looking for a list of fun and FREE activities, check out Friday’s post for suggestions.) By having something small to look forward to each day, it helps us slow things down a little bit and appreciate each day individually.
So this is my challenge to you my busy-awesome friends. Seek out and celebrate the magical moments of your day, and focus on the good as much as possible.
Question:
Are you a seeker of everyday magic? How do you celebrate each day? What is something that made you smile today? Let me know in the comments below!
