The qualities of your ideal day bring you so much pleasure and joy! What keeps you from having more days like that?

Wandering aimlessly (almost).

On my ideal day, I walk for hours on end, with relatively little impediment. One of my favorite haunts is Bayocean, that four mile sand spit which defines the western edge of Tillamook Bay. I can easily walk eight hours out there with only short pauses to gaze upon the boundless expanse of the Pacific or to stoop down and pick up and examine one of the thousands of treasures along the way. 

Part of what I love about Bayocean is the way it is both sugar sand beach and forest, all at once. I can walk along the ocean side or the bay side. Or, I can easily venture inland and wander along the elk trails. There, I can get lost for hours among ancient Ents which most humans have never laid eyes upon. I am mostly alone out there, once I walk the short distance beyond where automobile parking is available. The solitude is lovely.

But here is the surprising part.

After waxing poetic upon the glories of remote, natural beauty with almost no-one else around, here is a surprise. Because another ideal day is when I walk into downtown Portland from the east side. 

What, you say? How can your ideal day be both on a remote sandy beach with almost no-one else around, and also an urban romp?

Which brings us to today’s topic.

What is your ideal day like?

You’ll notice the last word of that question: “like.” Which here means, let’s find a description for something as ephemeral as an “ideal day.” 

Quality Time

You may be familiar with an old book many refer to but few have actually read: The Five Love Languages. In that book are five “languages,” which the author identifies as resonating most deeply for us which, when “spoken,” help us to feel loved. The idea behind the book is to identify your own love language, and then look for ways to communicate more intimately with others in their language while helping them understand you through your language. 

My love primary love language is “quality time.” In other words, when I am engaged in what I consider quality time, I am living some version of my ideal day. 

Which means that I can have an ideal day on the beach or in the city alone. But, paradoxically, I can also just as easily have an ideal day with you, if we are engaged in what I consider quality time.

Which further means that I can actually enjoy my ideal day when I am at work, if I am engaged in quality time with people I care about and who are interested in spending quality time with me. 

It’s very subjective, of course, these concepts of an ideal day, and quality time.

My Point (and I do have one)

My point is simply that there are qualities which make up my ideal day. Qualities which are not restricted by time or place or who I am with, necessarily. 

But what about you? Have you taken time to identify for yourself what those qualities are for you? And have you made the intentional effort to build into your more of the qualities which generate your ideal day? 

It’s not as hard as you might think. But it also won’t happen on its own.

Start small.

As always, start small. You don’t want to lose your job over this. The temptation when you hear something like “ideal day” is to despair: “What am I doing with my life?” When actually, the challenge is to notice the qualities of your ideal day and then sprinkle some of them into more of your moments.

The takeaway:

Identify the qualities that make for your ideal day, and incorporate more of them into your every day.

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I can help you incorporate more of what makes your ideal day into every day.

If you’d like some help, take the small step today of booking a free thirty minute session either in person or over the phone.

You will have my undivided attention, with expert support and a clear path forward, with no obligation beyond the thirty minute session.