My Sunday was quite nice, but something happened that I want to elaborate on.
I'm listening to a "TED Radio" podcast episode called Simply Happy. This is a collection of interviews for the innovation and scientific study of human happiness. The entire episode is really interesting and many parts hit on something I struggle with, but one stood above the rest,
Happy people, do things slower, rather than faster.Diane and I had decided to go out grocery shopping and then on our way home we would take Logan out into the woods to play in the snow. Great idea, but the execution gets tricky. We decide to leave after feeding Logan lunch, then as Logan is eating we see his eyes start to close and he falls asleep in his high-chair. Two-hours later Logan wakes up, we pack up and head out for our little day-trip. We start shopping and my mind started doing some negativity math.
2-hours behind schedule
+ There are chores to do
+ We still have to cook dinner
+ Clean up the mess dinner will make
+ The weekend is ending
= There is no time left and all the fun in the world is dying before my eyes and life is a cruel sick exercise of disappointment and mental anguish.
Today is a straightforward typical Monday.
I was slammed with this crushing anxiety and it instantly took me out of the present moment. I angrily rushed the family out of the grocery store, and declared, "we are not going to the forest preserve, there is no time!". I stewed in the passenger seat staring angrily, then my partner saw the forest preserve and suggested, "lets just stop for a few minutes", and I begrudgingly agreed.
15-minutes of fresh air, sunlight and fun in the snow, was a jolt of pure happiness. With all that anxiety washed away we went on to finish everything we needed to do, and still had plenty of time for leisure before bedtime. Kudos to my partner, because sometimes listening means knowing what your partner is really saying, rather than just hearing the words that are being said.
A message to myself for the future:
Slow down.
- 4-mile run
- Read to Logan
- Watch the Olympics
- Fold Laundry
- Get to bed early
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