You are busy. Probably very busy. You often don’t see an end in sight. It’s tiring. There are too few days you feel a sense of satisfaction or fulfillment when your head finally hits the pillow.
I get it. You are not alone. One of my goals in writing this blog is to keep you focused on a desired future during the daily chaos. As such, as busy as you are, I hope you find time to not only read the blog, but to also work on key fundamental aspects of your life. These include:
- A dream toward which you are striving
- A career you are deliberately advancing
- A life plan you love
- A set of goals you take time to deliberately pursue
Pursuing just one of these provides a sense of purpose and direction. That alone helps get you out of bed every morning to go fight the dragons!
However, these longer-term tasks require time. Dreams and successful careers don’t materialize over night. While they inspire, direct and focus – it isn’t a daily experience. Weeks, months or years can pass before you reap the effort you sow.
What about today?
How about some energy, motivation or reward over the next 24 hours?
Sound good? If so, you need to master “The Perfect Moment.”
What is a Perfect Moment?
Perfect moments are exactly what they sound like – snapshots of time when everything is “right.”
You probably think first about the big, noteworthy moments as “perfect.” For example, over the holidays when everyone is gathered together laughing and smiling. That definitely can be a Perfect Moment, but there are others as well. Perfect Moments don’t have to be spectacular – they can be simple. In fact, you probably have them now, but you miss them. Consequently – you don’t get a daily dose of satisfaction and fulfillment.
Perfect moments don’t necessarily last long. They can be fleeting. It can be a sunrise on the drive to work; a song that takes you back to a great memory or even a smell that triggers vision of your grandmother’s kitchen. I’m visual so often it is something beautiful that I stop and absorb.
I’m sure you’ve had these moments before, although you may not have thought of them as such. Think back – think of a perfect moment you experienced in the last several months?
Try these ideas and see if you can achieve at least one Perfect Moment each day:
- Increase your Awareness: Too often you get so caught up in the battle that you lose sight of the overall experience. Head down and charging forward is not how you experience a perfect moment. Take a higher perspective; experience the whole and not just one or two parts. Look around and observe more than the task.
- Search for Good: Too often our jobs have us in a half-empty mindset – “What could go wrong?” “What did go wrong?” “What haven’t we thought of?” Find the positive; find the good. A beautiful cloud, a successful meeting, a promising employee, a perfect cup of coffee – I don’t care what it is. Turn your focus to the good and experience it.
- Live in the Moment: If your brain is always on “what’s next?” – you can’t experience the moment. When driving to work; walking to the next meeting; sitting at your desk before a phone call; walking the dog before dinner. Stay in the moment. Experience it. You’ll find the perfection in surprising places.
- Build White Space in your Calendar: It is virtually impossible to experience a perfect moment if you are 10 minutes late all day long. Build time in your day. Not hours – minutes can do the trick. Stop. Think. Experience. Feel. I promise you will find perfect moments if you can do this more regularly.
- Put it on your To Do List: If you are like me, you have more work than you can finish on any given day. As such, my priorities get done and the rest slips to tomorrow. I started to prioritize Perfect Moments. It is my goal to experience at least one a day. While I don’t always hit it – it is on my list. I challenge you to do the same.
Of all the work I do as a psychologist and an executive coach, helping individuals learn to capture Perfect Moments is one of my favorite activities. Are they going to change your life? No. Are they going to remove all the chaos and stress? No. They do, however, give you moments of satisfaction and fulfillment to make the Journey memorable!
p.s. If you want “extra credit” – try and have a “Perfect Day” in 2016!