Heroes Not Zombies

I was wondering the other day what makes the difference between a good day and a not so good day, or, frankly, a bad day?

It’s tempting to think its to do with external circumstances, like the weather, or with other people – what other people say or do. But I don’t think that’s a good explanation.

Maybe it’s to do with attitude or perception then? After all, some days the rain will seem to dampen your spirits. Some days the clouds seem to have been sent to rain on your parade. But other days, the rain will release the fresh, clean smell of grass. It will make the cobwebs in the bushes sparkle. You can turn your face towards the sky and feel invigorated by the rain drops falling on your skin. What makes the difference?

I got to thinking about verbs. Verbs? Yes, verbs. The words we use which describe what we are doing. Because we LIVE. That’s a verb. It’s something we do. How do I live? How do I do this living? Maybe my everyday verbs create my everyday experience? Maybe I DO, or, rather, CREATE, the quality of my everyday life? If that’s true then which verbs are important to me?

Here are the five verbs I figure are important in my life. The more of these I’m doing in a day, the better the day seems to me. Conversely, the less I’m doing these, the less satisfying the day feels.

I remember these verbs easily through the letters – CSEED.

C is for CREATING. I get creative restlessness. Do you get that? It’s a kind of agitation or a feeling of being unsettled. I can ease that feeling by creating. My favourite ways of creating are writing, photographing, or solving problems. I’m sure we all have our own ways to find our creativity.

S is for SHARING. I’m not a loner. I like to be in communication with others and to share experiences with others. I like people and it feels good when I’m sharing some of my day with others.

E is for ENJOYING.  Who wants a life without fun or pleasure? There has to be some enjoyment for life to feel good.

E is also for EARNING. I need to earn to live my life. Maybe I won’t always need to be earning (hey, I might win the lottery!) but until then it’s important that I earn, and it contributes to my self worth.

D is for DISCOVERING. I am insatiably curious. I love to find things out, to learn, to develop new understandings and have new insights.

That’s my verbs. The more I’m creating, sharing, enjoying, earning and discovering in a day, the better the day feels to me.

You can do this for yourself. Ask yourself which verbs are important to you in your everyday life? Maybe they’ll be the same as mine, maybe they’ll be different. Feel free to share if you like……