The Secret Sauce to Happiness
What’re you grateful for today?
Bet that made you stop and think for a second. *Scratches head*
I believe that gratitude is the secret sauce to happiness. It’s the key ingredient that will *hopefully* bring a smile to our face even on the days we just aren’t feelin’ so hot.
I’ve openly talked about this on podcasts, social media and in previous blog posts before but I try to take anywhere between three to four moments throughout my day to stop what I’m doing, pause and express gratitude. I usually do this right before I eat a meal so then I have no excuse to miss it because me missing a meal? Not gonna happen!!!
I tend to recite the same things over and over again. Gratitude for my health, my family, my friends, my career, the house I live in, my hometown, the city of Los Angeles, etc etc.
Sometimes I ask myself “Bob, can ya think outside the box a little bit more?” but that’s the creative juices firing off. I’ve come to realize gratitude isn’t supposed to be outside the box… it’s supposed to be for the things right in front of ME!
So why do I do this? Because it grounds me. It reminds me of allllll the things I easily take for granted on a day to day basis. I don’t think I’m the only one guilty of it, I think a majority of people probably do the same. Am I cray cray or am I right on the money?
It’s so easy to get caught up in chasing the next goal, then the next and the next. We have our eyes on the prize to get “x” and whenever we get there we immediately start to refocus on the new target “y”. It seems to be this endless cycle of always chasing the next thing that we believe will “bring us happiness” until we get there, refocus on the next target and begin chasing again.
It’s a bad cycle to get into and one that will never bring us to true happiness.
What really inspired me to write this tonight is a post I came across earlier today on Instagram from Carmen Lee Solomons that talked about how businesses are being negatively impacted due to Covid.
From the post : “Victoria Secret declared bankruptcy. Zara has closed 1,200 stores. Chanel, Hermes and Rolex have stopped production. AirBnb founder says that due to the pandemic, 12 years of effort have been destroyed in 6 weeks.” On and on the list goes.
Yes we’re five months deep into this pandemic which has felt like forever but I’ve lost sight of the bigger picture. When normal life does resume, most of these businesses will never be coming back. That’s insane, isn’t it?
This post caught me off guard. I’m someone who has been working remote with ease since the beginning of this pandemic. The company I work for, Liquid I.V., is part of the very small percentile of businesses in the WORLD that have continued to grow and scale even in the middle of a pandemic. I haven’t had to make any major sacrifices other than having to set up shop in my house which is NOTHING compared to the people who’ve lost their jobs.
In a way I’ve been privileged to have this job because I know people are struggling.
I’m not in the wrong or feel guilty for having this opportunity. I worked my ass off to get to where I am today and I have been extremely lucky with the hand of cards I’ve been dealt but I do recognize I am in that small percentile of people who hasn’t been totally impacted from Covid. I’ll be the first to admit it, I am the needle in the haystack.
I wanted to take a moment to express thanks to Liquid I.V. because of how much this career opportunity has changed my life for the better over the past 10 months. Previous to this I was driving Uber full-time for 3.5 years while I was building Purpose in the Youth Podcast. There were moments when I questioned if I ever would find the next step and sure enough I did with time.
Let’s just say I woulda been in big biiiiig trouble had I still been driving for Uber during this pandemic. Yiiikes.
I can honestly say there has not been one single moment since I took this job in October of 2019 of regret. However, there has been a handful of moments where I scratched my head and thought to myself “Why me? Why am I so lucky to be here?”
I listen to a lot of podcasts, read a good amount of books and weirdly enjoy listening to successful people talk about their journey of reaching success. Interestingly enough, one commonality I’ve seen and heard in so many of them is their perspective that material objects or accomplishments have never brought them the most happiness.
To them, the secret sauce to happiness was gratitude for what they already had.
I challenge all of you to take a moment today, tomorrow and every day moving forward to take just 30 seconds to get reeeeeal grounded with wherever you are currently in your life.
You may be at what feels to be the peak or maybe somewhere in the valley trying to climb your way out.
Wherever you may be, take just a moment to express gratitude and remind yourself of the things both you & I take for granted on a daily basis.
Our ability to breathe. Our ability to use the shower by ourselves. Our ability to eat without assistance. Our ability to work towards our goals. *Insert everything else here*
Take a moment to add the secret sauce to your daily meals and I’m willing to bet it’ll change your perspective on the the day in front of you and the months and years to come.
Happiness already lies within us. Sometimes we just need that gentle daily reminder of gratitude.
The Bearded Man