I recently came to the realization that some days my life can be utterly awesome. I can start the day off just right, have a fabulous breakfast, hang out with amazing people, do fun things like spending time in nature, reading spiritual books, having profound conversations, riding my Harley and doing yoga that both challenges and relaxes me. I can breathe deeply, not as the emergency response to deeply felt stress, but as the reaction to a deep sense of joy and satisfaction. And that breathing deeply perpetuates and anchors that state of joy and satisfaction. Moreover, it makes me realize that if I do that, I can be awesome all day. As I focus on being and feeling awesome all day, I attract more awesomeness into my life. It’s amazing but the little things like losing my wallet become a vehicle for joy, for connecting more deeply with other humans, for expressing vulnerability in a way that strengthens me.

My motto for this month (what good timing since it corresponds with the month of my birthday, and it will make the entire month a good time) is to work on my Awesomeness Project. This month I am affirming all things as Awesome. I am taking the time for me to breathe deeply, practice excellent posture and smile. In fact, my anchor, my return to the Awesomeness project is that. When something derails me, pushes me out of my good mood, I will take the time to stand up straight, breathe deep, smile, maybe do some stretches, feel how big and awesome I am, and return to that feeling of awesomeness where even the seeming setbacks are just benefits created by a loving universe, part of a bigger plan I don’t fully comprehend yet. I see setbacks as those detours that lead to the most unexpected and awesome outcome, and that I need to trust and smile into the goodness of the universe in its complete love and support for me. I am feeling awesome and making that a practice I intend to sustain.

This is part of a greater vision of increasing my happiness set point, elevating the thermostat on my default level of happiness. My goal is to go from a 68 to an 82. Those numbers are mostly meaningless, but I want to increase my level, and do better than Dan Harris’ “10 percent happier” which is a great book by the way.

You can do this too. Will you join me?