Recently, my mom lent me a book titled The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha. This book is based off of a TED Talk done in September 2010 by the same author called "The 3 A's of Awesome." During the TED Talk, the author gave a glimpse into his everyday world and featured a life-changing story that he found himself in the middle of a few years ago. The event that happened to him flipped his existence upside down, and left him searching for answers.
Neil Pasricha made it clear that although something horrible had happened to him that caused for a huge obstacle in his path, his eventual positive mindset was able to help him overcome all of the negativity and depression that came with his unexpected situation.
When my mom first told me about the book and the TEDxTalk after a rough situation that I too found myself in, I was a little hesitant to see what they were all about. I love TED Talks and reading, but I was unsure if I wanted to hear someone else's thoughts and opinions about how to change my negativity and outlook towards my situation. I didn't necessarily want guidance, so I put viewing and reading Neil's story off.
After first watching the TED Talk and then finishing the book, I embraced a whole new realization with not only my situation, but with life itself.
Both the TED Talk and book focused on the little things in life that are important to our daily happiness. The little experiences, thoughts, memories, laughs, and everything in between.
The author makes it clear that when a hard situation hits us, it's easy to forget the little things that make us smile. It's tempting to feel that the world is falling apart, but there are really some pretty awesome things around us.
In the book and video, Neil Pasricha points out some of the little things that are extremely important to our happiness. Things like : staring out at calm water, when there is leftover cake in the kitchen, returning to your warm comfy bed after getting up in the middle of the night, and many more. It's the little things like these that inspire us to be happy, if we only remember to realize their importance.
The author included things in his book and video that made him happy, but now I want to make my own list.
Here is a list of 10 little things that you can remember everyday to make you just a little bit happier.
1. That feeling of relief after you finish the laundry, and put everything away in their proper drawers.
2. That moment when you laugh so hard that you can't breathe.
3. When the person in front of you in the drive through line pays for your meal.
4. When class/work/school gets cancelled.
5. When you sit down after a long day and watch your favorite show.
6. When it's the perfect temperature out.
7. Taking a long hot shower after a hard workout.
8. Laughing and talking on the phone with someone you haven't talked to in a while.
9. Waking up during the night and realizing that you have 5 more hours until you have to actually get up.
10. Getting letters in the mail from people you love.
This book and video changed my life, in a way that I never thought was possible. It really is the little things in life that make life as great as it is. Moral of the story, next time you find yourself in a hard situation, just remember the awesome feeling of #2. Maybe you'll feel a little better.
