Excitement Makes All Outcome Better

It’s that time of the year when Santa’s elves visit our house each night, but this year is a little different; Roman and Leo are each in the know, so we have a little more help making Silas’s morning search for Reggie (named after Reggie Miller) and Bubbles more fun.

When we first started getting visits from our elf, and eventually elves, we had a lot of fun coming up with not-too-crazy ideas that the boys would enjoy. We were excited to see them excited each morning–our excitement made the hiding places and poses better.

But, as time went on, it became less exciting and more of a chore. There were multiple panicked wake-ups to move the elves before the boys made it downstairs because we forgot to do it the night before. The excitement began to dwindle, and the hiding places and poses became less exciting–thankfully, the boys’ excitement did not fade.

This year is a little different.

With Leo taking the lead for moving Reggie and Bubbles, the elves have found their creativity again–they have become re-energized, hiding in new places, and being more mischievous than ever. Leo’s excitement in his first year of being in on the truth has greatly improved Silas’s experience with the elves.

When you do things because you feel like you have to, the outcomes are much different than when you do things because you are excited to do them—you don’t necessarily need to have passion for everything you do, that would be amazing, but if you can find a way to make your Self excited about everything you do, your final results will be better.

There are different ways to accomplish this.

You can only take on commitments, projects, and work you are excited about. This may not be practical or possible for everyone, but striving to do more things that excite you and less that don’t is a great way to find your Self doing just that. For example, you can use the “hell yeah” test. Whenever you are presented with an opportunity as your Self, “does this make me excited?” and if it’s not a “hell yeah”, it’s a no, and you pass.

You can also look to find the little things in the commitments, projects, and work you enjoy. There is always a silver lining, which might just be what you need to take the work from a chore or responsibility to something you can enjoy and be excited about. For example, I used to hate cutting the grass–I viewed it as a waste of an hour of my time, and it was a choir. For years, our neighbor cut our grass, and it was the best money I’ve spent, but now, with the boys old enough to cut the grass, it’s become their chore. But, sometimes, the grass needs to be cut while they are at a camp or friend’s house, and the responsibility falls on me. Instead of being annoyed that I have to cut the grass, I’ve shifted my perspective to it being an opportunity to be in nature, even if it’s just my yard, for an hour. Magically, something I used to hate has become something I enjoy, and while the grass looks the same, the outcome for my Self is much better.

You have more control over the excitement you bring to all areas of your life–whether you choose only to do exciting things or you find the excitement hidden in the work, you have control.

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See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC