Glee Check

"The First Snow, Kazan, Soviet Union, 1970" by Vladimir Zotov

Back in 2008, I had a personal trainer. During the winter season, she sent me a holiday card with the above photo on the front. I haven't been able to throw it away. You see the look on those kids faces? That's glee. I want that glee back in my everyday life. The type of glee where I can throw out my hands and tilt back my face and let the wonder of life just flow through me. Looking at this card reminds me of the glee that I had as a child and is a reminder to create more of those moments now.

I've been reading a book called One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer. If you've never heard of "kaizen" before, it's basically a Japanese word that symbolizes small steps towards continuous improvement. This book is really causing me to re-evaluate how I think about action. Before reading this book, I felt like goals required all or nothing effort which meant I almost always ended up with nothing (think New Year's Resolutions!). This kaizen way of thinking according to Dr. Maurer says that the smaller the step, the less likely you are to freak out and stop out of overwhelm and the more likely you are to reach your goal one baby step at a time. So in the spirit of kaizen, here are five very small steps that I can make now to help me experience more glee in my every day life.

1. Play one favorite song and dance full out the whole time the song plays
2. Hula hoop for one minute straight
3. Laugh for one minute a day (even if I have to force myself to get started)
4. Spend one minute closely observing a plant or flower or some other element of nature
5. Skip outside for 30 seconds

Those feel doable and I'm starting today. Anyone care to join me?