Celebrate the Ordinary
... Cause it makes life so much SWEETER
This post is 866 words, a 4 min read.
I was listening to a podcast from Ryan Holliday and he made the comment that there is no such thing as "Quality Time".
He was speaking in reference to spending time with your children. He said the idea of quality time is a lie we tell ourselves as a way to get off the hook for not spending time with those we love. We leave quality time to be when we go on dates or vacations or fill-in-the-blank special occasions that only happen every so often.
He made an excellent point that All Time is Quality Time. What makes it quality is not the fancy activity but how you use it. As Jerry Seinfeld said, "I'm a believer in the ordinary and the mundane. I don't want quality time - I want the garbage time"
That snippet from the podcast reminded me of a post I wrote two years ago with a similar idea. Today, I will be reposting it with some edits as a reminder for myself to get back to Celebrating in the Mundane Everyday Things.
"Find the Ordinary and CELEBRATE the Ordinary."
The first time I heard this, I was like if that ain't an oxymoron. The reason the ordinary is ordinary is because it is boring and has no reason for celebrating. If it were worth celebrating we would not call it ordinary. We have words for those moments. Words like Special, Exceptional, Amazing, Unbelievable, Extra-ordinary, Out of this WORLD, Unique, Noteworthy. You know, words that elicit a specific reaction in our brains to make us pay attention. So saying to celebrate the ORDINARY makes no sense.
However; I think in our current climate this is essential for our well-being. With social media, we have the access to see what is happening in other people's life at all times. I know for myself, I easily get caught up with looking at what other people have or comparing myself to see how I measure up. Forgetting that social media is nothing but a highlight reel for people. No one really shows the failures, everything looks amazing and well put together. Which leads to this downward spiral of asking myself "What am I doing with my life?" Forgetting all the blessings around me. Theodore Roosevelt said:
But that quote to Find the Ordinary and then Celebrate in the Ordinary, flipped a switch in my head
It caused me to think of things differently. It made me stop looking outwardly for reasons to celebrate. It made me realize there are so many reasons to celebrate, I just have to pay attention to them. I don't need the validation of someone else to celebrate. I am allowed to just celebrate. Because celebrating is a deep part of being human, it helps us push forward, it gives us strength to fight another day.
As you guys know I am a finance nerd, so I look at a lot of things through the lens of Finance. And in this space, it is SO EASY to start comparing. To see other people and just wonder why am I SO BEHIND? Or as my Mom used to say “Do they have two heads?”
I was feeling this way about myself cause I saw someone's highlight reel and started comparing my whole life to a person's 60 seconds IG Reel (just think about that for a second. I was comparing 29 years of life to a 60-second clip).
The other lens and the lens that carries A LOT more weight as to how I see the world is my FAITH (What you thought the God Bless You was just a greeting at the end? Nope it’s a prayer for everyone reading this newsletter.) There is a bible verse that says,
There is something that happens to our brains when we find reasons to give thanks. There is something of the hope that is revived when we look at our lives and we say,
"I am alive" is a reason to be thankful.
"I just pooped this morning" is a reason to give thanks.
"I woke up and got mad at my lawn mower when the battery died faster than I expected." is a reason to give thanks.
Giving thanks is just another way to say CELEBRATE. So find those small things, those small victories. DO NOT WAIT for BIG MASSIVE things to happen. In the small everyday MUNDANE, BORING, ORDINARY things:
Do a little dance
Sing a ridiculous song
Pound your chest
Clap your hands
Stomp Your Feet
DO THE LEBRON
Whatever you want to do at that moment
Just CELEBRATE those victories.
And if you have someone special with you, celebrate it with them.
Make it a REGULAR effort. Because when you do, Life gets just a bit SWEETER!
Remember Generosity > greed
God Bless Each and Every one of Y'all
✌🏾
Recommended Reads
An awesome article by Bloomberg on how we will never feel as rich as we earn, Are You Rich?
Nick Maggiulli, Paychecks Not Porfolios. Nick breaks down why income is the most important factor in trying to build wealth.
Nick Maggiulli, How to Save for a house. Excellent breakdown of the cost associated with buying a house and how much you will need to save in order to buy a house
Awesome read!! Great points made!