I’ll be happy when…  But, what if these are the good ‘ol days?  That’s what I’m pondering in today’s episode.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and so many of us, myself included, get caught up in the “I’ll be happy when” and we’ve talked about this.  The science that we never get to the “when” because of the way our brain chemistry is made up.  But what if we switched the word “happy” for a different word “less stressed”, “calm”, “more focused”, “less busy”, “less distracted”... you get the idea.  I wonder, do we ever feel that way?  I know I’ve said, next week, it will be less busy and I can focus on that project.  But you know what, next week comes and I rarely feel less busy.  

I think about this in the context of an old phrase that really hit home during the pandemic and that I have been playing on repeat in my mind since March 2020.  It is: what if these are the good ‘ol days.  

What if it’s not about where we are going, but about wondering if we’ll look back and think, wow, those were the good ‘ol days.  Perhaps I wasn’t as busy as I thought.  I was happier than I gave myself credit for.  I felt so stressed and didn’t give myself enough credit for what I was doing - and oh my gosh, it was a lot.    

Today I invite you to follow science with me and try to be more present in the moment.  Because, research indicates that chasing the goal to achieve happiness on the other side is futile.  We’ll never get there.  But what we can do is take that Intentional Margin®, sneak a moment to breathe and focus on all the happiness and abundance in the present moment.  

And if you want the honors course, after that moment, send a note to someone and tell them you are grateful for them.  It goes a long way to boost your happiness and create that ripple effect of kindness.  

Remember, kindness is contagious, so go out and do something kind in the world today.  

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