“What would make today great?”…

For years, every morning, I’ve asked myself this very question. I’ve come to realize that how you answer this question speaks volumes about how deeply you truly understand that your life is being created, moment to moment, from the inside-out and not the outside-in.

You see, for years, my answer to this question looked a lot like this:

Q: What would make today great?

A: Getting XYZ project done, meeting up with so and so, going to the gym, eating a green smoothie, getting a call back from XYZ company, etc.

When I’ve asked my wife, friends, family members, clients and colleagues the same question, the answer would invariably be something along the same lines:

“Get XYZ done, have this so and so thing happen, go do XYZ, etc.”

At first, it seemed like no big deal, we were all on the ‘same page’ going about living our lives, getting things done and achieving our goals. 

But the longer I sat with this question, the more it started to burn through the layers surrounding my own fundamental misunderstanding of how life really works. As it so happens, when it comes to this fundamental misunderstanding, most of us are on the same boat.

You see, I had never noticed how my response to this question was revealing my underlying assumptions of where the source of my happiness, joy and well-being was really coming from.

What made “today great” was always either something I got done or something that transpired (a desired event or circumstance).

Something “out there, not now”

Then I had an Insight.

It came about one morning, as I sat down with my usual morning coffee, pen and journal in hand, ready to greet the new day, and revisit this question once again.

As I wrote down the question, in a flash, I was struck by another question that sounded kinda like this:

“No, really….what would absolutely, positively ensure that you have a great day today?”

The question, although similar, stopped me in my tracks.

The tone of it seemed to point to something deeper, something I wasn’t seeing yet.

As I sat with this question, it dawned on me that whether something happened or didn’t happen was really no guarantee that I would experience a great day.

Furthermore, I saw how I was blindly attributing the quality of my experience to something outside of myself and outside of Now (future events, circumstances and people).

As this insight settled in, I looked down at my journal and I noticed that I had already written a response.

Q: What would make today great?

A: Being love.

I followed the invitation and what I ended up with was something like this:

Q: What would make today great?

A: Being love. Being joyful. Being grateful. Trusting Life. Being present. Being kind. Being compassionate. Being peace. Letting go and letting God. 

Reflecting on my responses, it was clear that I didn’t have to wait for anything to happen to have a great day. I didn’t have to check something off my “to do” list to create a great day.

It occurred to me that the answer to the question: What would make today great? Is really the answer to the question: What would make this moment great? Consider that for a moment.

It became obvious to me in that moment that…

It’s not what we do but how we do what we do that determines the quality of our lives.

How we do what we do isn’t something we “get” it’s something we “give.”

What we “give” comes from the inside-out.

It’s not what we do but how we do what we do that determines the quality of our lives. Click To Tweet

In every moment, we can choose to give more love, kindness, gratitude, compassion, presence and joy. We can choose to extend these essential qualities that live within us Now. Nobody is stopping you.

What’s been most amazing to notice in my own experience is that there seems to be no end or limit to how much love, presence and joy we can “give” to this moment.

It’s infinite supply. The well will never run dry. By simply allowing that which is seeking to express more life and love, to express itself through you as you, you become uplifted and raise the tide for everyone else. 

Of course, don’t believe a word I’m saying here. Try it out for yourself.

I think you’ll be astounded at how quickly (usually instantaneously) you start to create and experience “a great day” every day, when you make the fundamental shift from “getting” what you feel is missing from the outside-in, to “giving” it from the inside-out.

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Create a beautiful day!