Tuesday, 29 September 2015

#Improving our lives - small things

It is 07.20. I am just back from my bike ride. There was a strong cold east wind - but very clear. It was stunning to see a massive red sun emerge gradually from the sea horizon and then become a huge yellow globe with a red bottom half. Almost unreal - so close - however no extra warmth yet for a while at least.

Some mornings/days it is a bit of a rush of course but here is a simple idea.

(I am not generally one for psychobabble - there are plenty of books about lifestyle and happiness etc. - (very few of which I have read - ha!). For me the route to happiness is simply explained by Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Get that in your head and you won't go far wrong - everything begins to make sense and you will know where you are.)

Back to the simple idea - it is not original! All it is - try and do something each day - however small to make an incremental improvement in your life. Invariably it means investing a bit of extra time now - or hassle now for benefit in the future.

Question - "what have I done today to improve my life - make it that little bit easier, or enjoyable or special? The best ones have ongoing and regular benefit.

One simple one - we all have journeys to make in our lives. To school, to the shops - to work. In many instances there are route options. Is there one that gives more pleasure. Can the route be perfected. For instance I have 2 routes to the nearest town. One possibly a bit longer - it runs by the sea. If you have time to notice the sea and the sky - just for a few moments it adds some extra pleasure to your life. It is the route I use.

One yesterday - my lap top briefcase is crammed with files. It made getting my lap top in and out a hassle. It has been the case for ages. I sorted the files - reduced them down and tidied things up. It took 20 minutes. I actually smiled with pleasure yesterday when the silly old lap top just slid into the bag!

Another one - I have had the same car for a long time. Radio channels are selected by push button or by manually searching. There are a couple of channels I listen to now and again. One is for the cricket - but I have never set up the button press because I couldn't remember how to do it. Anyway I got the manual out - sorted it. Now I can listen to Test Match special with ease - ha - rather than miss it because I cannot tune in properly! Simple pleasures are best.

That is my tip - slow incremental improvements - improves our lives. (of course there will always be set backs - a puncture - or the washing machine goes wrong - but onward we go with a smile- ha!)

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