Greetings!
The topic today centers on “Bold moments”–those exquisite moments in time that inspire happiness. I like to refer to them as Bold moments.
What are they? I think of them as positive moments… on steroids!
You might typically associate Bold moments with big life events, like:
- The birth of a child
- Graduation day
- A wedding
- Special recognitions, and more
- A courageous act
Yet, I am talking about something different today. A Bold moment is actually much smaller by comparison–they could be the many happy, memorable moments that accumulate and lead up to the birth of a child, graduation day, a wedding, etc. Or they could be simply a special moment that you take notice of during your day.
While the big moments are typically few and far between, we can have a full life of bold moments every day.
We can even create and design Bold moments into our day!
A person, who lives to an expected 80 years old today, will be alive for 29,200 days. According to nobel prize winning economist Daniel Kaneman, if we average 20,000 thoughts a day you will have 584,000,000 million thoughts in your lifetime. That’s a lot of thoughts!
What if you could make 2, 3 or 4 of those thoughts or moments special everyday?
If you did, a person would have between 58,000 to over 100,000 bold moments in their lifetime. That amount of regular positivity could change anyone’s outlook on life and attitude!
Every day is an opportunity to create something special. It is up to you and you are in control. While a Bold Life encompasses the Big Bold Goals you accomplish, accumulating just 20,000 to 30,000 Bold moments would also equal a pretty memorable life!
When we were kids, those Bold moments might be the joy that comes from building a Lego toy, constructing a fort, or eating an ice cream cone and getting it all over your face. But now, as an adult, some examples might include:
- Really listening to a song that moves you
- Walking up to someone and starting a conversation
- The savory taste of a phenomenal meal
- That loving moment with your partner, child or grandchild
- That happy smile of a friend when you see them
- The view from majestic mountain you climbed or sea view you traveled to
- The smell of the perfect coffee
- The elation at the end of a great workout
- Your relaxing shower or time in the hot tub
- A walk in nature in the soothing sunlight
- Petting your dog’s favorite spot! LOL
- A shoeless walk on the beach
- A car ride with the windows and sunroof open and music blaring
- Connecting to a piece of art
In his bestselling book “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones,” James Clear describes the tiny, incremental changes in behavior that can serve as a stepping stone to bigger changes.
Mel Robbins, in her book “The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage,” promotes the idea of starting a journey with small, incremental steps.
A similar concept applies to Bold moments: smaller Bold moments can accumulate, and create much bigger–and much more Bold–Bold moments! A Bold Life!
If your Bold Goal is to write a book, why not make the completion of a chapter or even a paragraph a Bold moment?
If your Bold Goal is to complete a marathon in record time, why not make a successful training run a Bold moment?
If you’re climbing up Bold Mountain, why not celebrate when you reach new heights?
By baking in these celebratory Bold moments en route to accomplishing a Bold Goal, we can savor them almost every day–and make our everyday life that much better!
It’s also worth noting the distinction between internal and external Bold moments.
Internal Bold moments are just for you. External, on the other hand, are the ones you give to others.
Imagine if your significant other loves a fresh espresso in the morning, so you greet them with one. You are giving them a Bold moment with that steaming cup of joe, and, in turn, their happiness is giving you your own Bold moment.
I wrote previously about the World’s Happiest Man, a Buddhist monk named Matthieu Ricard. He believes that the secret to happiness is making others happy. Clearly, that lesson applies to Bold moments, too!
If you can adopt a strategy of creating Bold moments–both for yourself and others–how could you ever be bored? How could you ever get depressed?
I hope you’ll take the idea of Bold moments to heart, and incorporate them into your day.
One of my Bold moments today is sharing this idea with you, and I hope it inspires you to have a bunch of Bold moments on the path to a Bold Life!
P.S. PROJECT BOLD LIFE: The Proven Formula to Take on Challenges and Achieve Happiness and Success is a complete system for planning your life to get what you want, and has been a top seller in three categories: “Motivational Growth & Spirituality”, “Personal Success & Spirituality” and “Management Skills”. I hope you check it out if you have not purchased a copy.