I wrote an email with the word effusive in it while simultaneously asking a kid if they have poop in their diaper, drinking coffee (my fourth time re-heating my first cup of the day), returning a text message, and keeping slime off of a kid's shirt. As soon as I finished typing, I read over a contract while mixing a batch of play dough with my free hand. I kept scenes like this going for ten hours through my "workday." I took an hour for dinner, another hour to put kids to bed and clean the house, and then another hour laughing at email and text exchanges with business partners, client, and friends. I might have let out a few words of frustration in between the laughs as well.
At the end of the night I finally showered and climbed into bed. I was so tired my bones hurt, my phone chimed with reminders for the next day as I lay in bed in the dark, my eyes slowly giving in to the exhaustion. At the end of the day I was tired, content, more tired, and happy. Really happy. I make sure every day brings me some kind of happiness. It's how I've designed my life. The next day similar scenes would play out. And every morning I start my day looking at this sign:
Do More Of What Makes You Happy
I rarely do something if it doesn't bring me joy and happiness. By some dumb luck, life has given me a pretty good hand (let's acknowledge that) and I've made that hand work in my favor every day. I've designed my life to bring me happiness every day. Does it sound silly and ridiculous? Yes, it does. Is it possible for everyone to live life this way? Yes, I do so believe. You see, it's more of a mindset than anything. Not everything works out perfectly, but it can still bring you happiness.
That poopy diaper I mentioned at the beginning? Yeah, it didn't stay in the diaper at all. The slime didn't stay off the shirt and I wound up scrubbing the shirt. My days don't run smoothly. I think 'WTF!!??!!?' more in an hour than some people do in a week. Yet it all makes me laugh, if not in the moment, at least at the end of the day.
My days are a good mix for me. There's things I love to do in every day. It's not to say that my busy lifestyle doesn't bring me stress, worry, doubt, or headaches. It's the fact that the end of the day, at the end of these projects and meetings, if I've learned something and the end result brings me happiness, then it's worth it. I'd like to say I've found the key to happiness, but I've simply found the key to my happiness.
I challenge you, before you complain, before you wish something in life were different, before you act, do more of what makes you happy.