Enjoying the Day

Unfortunately, no matter how much of your life is filled with routine, the mild annoyances of daily life can turn a glorious day into one of frustration. Does the kitchen door still squeak when you open it? Does the knife drawer still stick when you try to shut it? Are you reminded that the porch light is still broken when you arrive home late from work and can't find your house key? Taken separately, these are nothing more than nuisances that are quickly forgotten. Taken together, you have the makings for a frustrating day. If you can set aside a bit of time each week (mark it on your calendar!) to fix these bothersome inconveniences, or if you can hire someone to help you a few hours a week, you will have gone a long way in reducing many of the conditions that lead to unpleasant emotions.

Reducing the minor stresses and frustrations of daily life, however, is only half of the story. Enjoying life also requires that you fill your day with activities that lead to a sense of satisfaction. Enjoying the warmth of the sun on a crisp fall day or observing the brilliant sky on a moonless night may make us all feel good, but the key to a happy life involves producing–working on tasks that lead to a product. For example, growing juicy tomatoes, writing daily in a journal, building a birdhouse, or mastering the game of tennis, are tasks that provide you with pleasure long after the work is done. Likewise, becoming an expert on Aristotle or developing a close relationship with a dying friend or relative–these involve products, too!–provide you with years of stories and memories. You see, it is through the slow and deliberate creation of something that we experience the most elusive and yet most enduring happiness–a sense of accomplishment and pride. This kind of satisfaction has little to do with immediate gratification; rather, it has to do with meaning, fostered one day at a time. In the end, you will be glad you took the time.

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