Bottle Up Those Happy Moments

During the holiday season, we tend to find our happy place. Whether with family, friends or colleagues, people tend to be a little happier. We sing more. We eat more. We clean more. We plan more. We smile more. We are better people. Then comes our resolutions. We look at the New Year as an opportunity for change. As a way to become one inch better, stronger, healthier or even happier. As the cold, dark days of mid-January come, though, happiness and commitment to resolution tends to fade. We cease to own the happy moments that put laughter in our bellies and smiles on our faces. We cease to commit to the resolutions we had planned to complete (exercise more and eat less). We cease the chance to bottle up those happy moments. Today, I encourage everyone to find their bottle(s). Open the lids of these memory bubbles in our minds and tuck a few of those moments in there. In family: Take that hug or kiss or smile and put it in that safe place. Remember that tingly feeling of being loved. Remember the happiness you felt. In friends: Remember that cheers. Lock onto that smile or hand shake or high five (I certainly gave none of those during last Sunday’s Bears game). Remember the surprise of gift and the happiness of giving. In work: Think of those moments of vision and planning. Embrace the business’s resolutions and goals. Become a part of them. Remember being acknowledged or recognized. Remember what it felt like when a colleague or client said thank you. In the mirror: Remember why you made that resolution. Remember why you vowed to change in that difficult moment. Embrace an internal change and revisit it every 15 days. Many of us fail to activate our short-term memory. When times get challenging, we tend to go toward negative places of I can’t, I won’t and I am unwilling to try. Those places set you off course, and frankly, it’s really hard to get back on the path. As you smile today, remember that smile. Write it down on a piece of paper if your brain won’t save it. Remember those happy moments, as happy moments help you achieve anything you set your mind to. Happiness is what makes the world go round. As I head into 2014, I plan to remember the good of 2013. Whether it was sharing a hug with my son or a welcome home kiss from my wife. Or a ‘Hey, you guys did great and you mean a lot to us’ email from a client. Or a high five from a friend after nailing a three pointer in meaningless Sunday basketball. I have created a box for 2013 in my mind and I will respect and remember everything I put in there. While today is a new day and yesterday is gone, I am ready to become a better person, husband, father, son and friend in 2014. I am going to box up my happy moments and use them in times of challenge. I am going to look forward, not back. I am going to do my best to have a great year. I am going to remember how happy I feel in this moment as I jump into a New Year. I hope you do, too.