To Inspire:

Recently I told our summer intern the only thing I don’t love about marketing is that by always planning things for the future it sometimes feels like time is rushing by. Right now, for example, I’m working on events and projects for October and November.

In my personal life, I’m excited for a trip coming up in late August. But while I’m really looking forward to that, I don’t want to rush summer – my favorite season. I want to enjoy my garden as it continues to grow. I want to enjoy the summer concerts we have tickets for, and time spent with friends, sitting on patios and grilling out in beautiful weather.

I think about this a lot. Always looking forward to things or looking forward to being done with things. Missing out by not living in the moment. Author James Clear sums this up beautifully:

“Learn to love the interruptions. Find the fun in the delay, the humor in the challenge, the pleasure in the daily commute.

A great deal of life is spent dealing with interruptions and waiting for the conditions to turn. We think, “If I can just get past this, then things will open up.” But the interruption is not standing between you and your life. It is your life.

Yes, I prefer hassle-free days too. But you’ll rarely find a situation that is all bad. There are little pockets of joy folded inside the annoyances we face. There is always fun to be had, if you go looking for it.

This is one of the arts of living. It’s the art of enjoying the imperfect days. It’s the art of making all the moments count.”

Focusing on big plans or big achievements to feel joy is called the “I’ll be happy when…” mindset. I would love to give you a list of easy tips on how to shake this mindset and recognize the beauty in the ordinary, but I don’t think it is easy. Here are two harder ones: Try to stop multi-tasking and instead focus on doing one thing at a time. And occasionally put down or turn off your electronic device of choice and pay attention to what’s going on around you.

As John Lennon sang in the song Beautiful Boy, “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Try, sometimes, to focus on life.

Written by Michelle O’Brien, Manager of Marketing & Communications