Enjoy a Good Moment When You See It

Last night I had a marvelous sleep and so I was sitting there this morning, in a comfy arm chair, brimming with happiness and energy.

My iPad and my phone were right in front of me, screaming: check me out, take a look at what’s new.

Yet, I enjoyed the moment so much that I didn’t give in.

Instead, I just put on earmuffs and drank my morning coffee. Soon lots of ideas started surfacing, one of them: Enjoy a good moment when you see it. This was one of these moments.

I often have blissful mornings when I make the time for them. They knock on my door and when I open, they reward me with silence and creativity.

That is, when I don’t rush to the next task or grab my phone.

These days I am often aware what is happening in a particular moment.  It has become more of a habit to observe myself and the world around me. What is going on? How am I feeling?

Like yours, my energy levels vary throughout the day. Also, every day is slightly different. Often I feel great in the morning, but sometimes a bit later in the day.

Now I want to catch these moments of high energy and inspiration.

Are you waiting until the evening, or until you are retired before you start collecting your blissful moments?

Perhaps you think. Not now, now I have to finish this task. I have to do A, then B, then C.

You think, “I will get over with all my responsibilities and making money and then can I finally enjoy my day and be at ease.”

The fact is that every day we have periods when we feel happier and more energized and every day we experience physical and mental lows.

I hope to live a happy retirement, but I don’t know how I will feel then.

If I am lucky, I will still have these periods of high energy and be able to move, but I will also still have my daily lows.

Should things go not so well, my machine won’t be running as smoothly.

Now my metabolism, my brain, and my bones are still working well.

Why not drive my car while it looks beautiful, has all this power, and there is still gasoline left?

Beating procrastination is an evergreen topic with time management and productivity coaches. Their books teach us how to fill every moment with useful activities.

But should you postpone happiness?

Perhaps you are standing in line, waiting to be served:

They will say “take out your phone and start reading these “read-later” articles. If the read-later queue is empty, spend the waiting time browsing and refill the queue.

But is this really good advice?

Life only ever happens in the moment. Do you want it to happen in your to-do list?

The “love of your life” is standing right in front of you. Or perhaps it is a potential business partner or friend, or someone who might trigger a marvelous idea in you?

Notes to myself:

• Enjoy these moments brimming with energy. Don’t feel guilty and think you are procrastinating. You are living life!
• Give this moment the time and space to unfold. You are healthy now, so better make good use of it.
• Learn to better understand how your energy changes throughout the day.
• Pay yourself first: Reserve 10 minutes every morning for a quiet cup of coffee and 20 minutes for just sitting, enjoying yourself, and meditating.

Rewards:

• Your happiness cake every day
• You score points every day
• Great ideas
• Hopefully fewer regrets
• Doing more things that matter

If you liked this post, I recommend you also read how I use my morning meditation for harvesting great ideas.