Today is Your Day!

So we have two choices, we can hurry through the moments of our day – in a rush to get to another Friday. We can dash through our tasks, eager to put them behind us. We can multi-task in the hopes of accomplishing more than humanly possible in 24 hours.

Or we can be mindful, grateful and appreciative as we navigate the moments of our day.

We can see, instead of merely looking, at our surroundings. Noticing the changing colours of the seasons, the smell of pine trees or freshly cut grass.

We can sit down for a conversation, stop whatever else we are doing, notice the eye color of the person we are conversing with. We can ask more questions, interrupt less and be genuinely interested in what the other person is sharing.

We can taste our food, instead of just ingesting it. We can notice the color, the texture, the temperature of the food. We can observe the feeling of being satisfied, which happens before we are full.

We can appreciate our bodies, in all their perfect imperfection. We can notice how the chair feels on our back, how our feet feel inside our shoes, how dextrously our fingers fly over the keyboards (or not), we can take some really deep breaths, feeling the cool air come in through our nose and our stomachs contracting when we exhale.

We can pause, and notice the ease of our life – hot water flowing through our taps, how electricity comes at the flip of a switch, how easily and effortlessly we can be warm and comfortable. How we can use our disposable income to do activities just for the sake of pure pleasure.

And perhaps most importantly, we can look across the table (or perhaps through the computer) and see people who love us. People who influence our life, people who matter to us, people who give us unconditional love. We can enjoy and linger in the sweet kiss, fall into the embrace and be the last one to let go. We can blow a kiss, share a smile, pass a wink – just because.

Everyone wants more time in the day, but what if the exact amount of time we have is enough, what if we are enough, just the way we are. Maybe it’s just that we need to be more mindful of the time we have.

So my invitation to you today and this week is to enjoy and appreciate the special day that is today, because it is not a typical day – it’s your day. Be mindful. Be appreciative. Be grateful. Be attentive. Treat it like it is the first day of your life, or the last. Allow yourself to be in awe and wonder. Because if you are not, today will be a day like any other – and you may just miss the best day of your life. Today. It is your day.

And if you do nothing else – say thank you.

Steph

Stephanie Staples, CSP* is the author of When Enlightening Strikes – Creating a Mindset for Uncommon Success and an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker. She empowers audiences & clients across North America to bring their ‘A’ game to work and to life. Stephanie has a special interest in working with and empowering nurses and healthcare providers. She happily calls Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada home. You can get loads of complimentary resources to help with issues such as work/life balance, wellness, stress management and happiness in general, as well as find out more information about her coaching and speaking services at http://www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca.

* Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), conferred by the National Speakers Association is the speaking profession’s international measure of professional platform proficiency. Less than 10 percent of speakers have earned this credential and are recognized as some of the best in their fields. Stephanie was one of only five professional speakers in Canada (and the only woman) to attain this designation in 2013.

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Contributed by Stephanie Staples at Your Life Unlimited

by Stephanie Staples

Today is Your Day!

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