Why Don’t We Treat Every Day Like A Birthday?!
Today is my 31st birthday.
It’s not an “exciting” birthday by traditional birthday standards. While it’s a reminder that I’m now firmly planted in my 30’s, 31 is not a milestone birthday by any means. (Those, I always celebrate in a big way!)
But birthdays have always held a special place in my heart – whether mine or someone else’s.
And what’s not to love? They’re a day to celebrate you!
Due to a crazy October, I’ve already celebrated my big day with friends. All I wanted this year was to spend time with some of my favorite people for my favorite meal (brunch!), complete with a few mimosas.
Since the celebration technically already happened, I woke up this morning thinking “what should I do with myself today?!” It’s my birthday, after all, so shouldn’t I spend the day doing something special?!
A simple birthday day
So I thought…I want to do all the things I love (and that feel good!) today.
The day started with making myself a big cup of coffee and a healthy breakfast, followed by some great work meetings. In there somewhere I made my fiancé pancakes, since he hadn’t slept well the night before. (Plus, his love language is acts of service, so it feels good to do things for him!)
After doing a little more work, I set to writing this post as I sit outside on our patio, catching some sun on this beautiful 75 degree Florida day. (Sidenote: even though I can sunbathe and work at the same time, I always feel guilty about it. But…it’s my birthday, so why not?!)
Later this afternoon, I’ll get my workout in, then it’s off to enjoy trivia hosted by my best friend! I’ll likely end the night with a glass of vino and a mud mask.
But then I realized…
Somewhere in the middle of the day, I realized: I’m getting things done, but I’m also adding in the things that make me most happy. I’ve had meaningful conversations with clients I love, I did things for others, I spent time outside, I (will) workout, and spend time with friends.
Really, this day isn’t that much different than any other day. But it feels different.
So I had this thought: why don’t I choose to do things I love every day?
Sure, I’m lucky in that I work from home and keep my own schedule, so I have the flexibility to do (basically) whatever I want on a daily basis.
But why don’t I more intentionally add joyous activities throughout my day? Why do some days seem to just happen, rather than be meaningfully lived? Why don’t we treat more days like our birthdays?
What I ended up figuring out
While I try to incorporate things or activities I love every day, I do a better job some days than others. Here’s what I learned today:
- Be intentional. If you walk into a situation (work, personal, doesn’t matter) with a negative attitude, chances are you’ll have a negative outcome. But, if you’re intentional (and positive) about everything: your attitude, the way you choose to spend your time, the way you live your life, etc., you’ll likely be happier with the outcome.
- Choose things that make you happy. Sure, we’re not always going to love every little thing we have to do throughout our day. But if you infuse the day with the things that you love and make you happy, you’re going to end up feeling much more satisfied at the end of each day.
- Live each day to the fullest. It’s easy to get stuck in the same routine every day or get bogged down by all the overwhelming things on your to do list. I get it. But if you stop to look up, you’ll realize that each day can be full and meaningful…and leave you feeling like you just had an incredible 24 hours.
So join me in starting to treat every day like your birthday. After all, we only have so many, we might as well start making them truly count!