20 Ways to Find Joy in Every Day
Want to feel a little lighter, shine a little brighter and watch your mood go sky-high? That incomparable state that's one part inner peace, one part giddy delight is 100 percent attainable.
Appreciate the Little Stuff
Neil Pasricha, author of The Book of Awesome, celebrates the perks of everyday life.
Most of us experience a few spectacularly high highs in life—your grandma's tearful expression at your college graduation, the joke your dad cracks as he walks you down the aisle—but while those moments are beautiful, they make up about .01 percent of our lives. So our job is to find the not-so-spectacular highs that are as delicious as they are mundane. Here are my favorites:
When the person scratching your back finds that one really itchy spot.
Just a little higher. A little lower. To the right—aah.
Letting go of the gas pump at just the right moment.
Tap that handle, curl the dial up to 20 bucks even, high-five your fellow patrons.
Sleeping with one leg under the covers and one leg out.
(A.k.a. the Toe Vent, or These Little Piggies Went to the Air-Conditioned Mall.
Wearing underwear straight from the dryer.
Like jumping on a horse that's been in the sun. A vacation for your butt.
When your windshield wipers sync with the song you're listening to.
Put on your turn signal for some hi-hat.
Fixing electronics by smacking them.
Here's why the Fonz hit the jukebox on Happy Days: It works!
Finally peeing after holding it forever.
Oh, sweet release.
Most of us experience a few spectacularly high highs in life—your grandma's tearful expression at your college graduation, the joke your dad cracks as he walks you down the aisle—but while those moments are beautiful, they make up about .01 percent of our lives. So our job is to find the not-so-spectacular highs that are as delicious as they are mundane. Here are my favorites:
When the person scratching your back finds that one really itchy spot.
Just a little higher. A little lower. To the right—aah.
Letting go of the gas pump at just the right moment.
Tap that handle, curl the dial up to 20 bucks even, high-five your fellow patrons.
Sleeping with one leg under the covers and one leg out.
(A.k.a. the Toe Vent, or These Little Piggies Went to the Air-Conditioned Mall.
Wearing underwear straight from the dryer.
Like jumping on a horse that's been in the sun. A vacation for your butt.
When your windshield wipers sync with the song you're listening to.
Put on your turn signal for some hi-hat.
Fixing electronics by smacking them.
Here's why the Fonz hit the jukebox on Happy Days: It works!
Finally peeing after holding it forever.
Oh, sweet release.
From the July 2013 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine