Every so often you come across an idea that is so creative and inspiring you just want to share it. “1000 Awesome Things” is one such idea.
Neil Pasricha started his blog in June of 2008 as a reminder that, even with all the challenges facing us, there are many things in life that should be celebrated, appreciated, and acknowledged as just plain awesome.
What started as a simple goal of writing about one awesome thing a day has turned into a feel good Internet phenomenon that inspires millions of people everyday. Neil recently turned his thoughtful, heartwarming and often humorous posts into a book entitled: The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket, and Other Simple, Brilliant Things
Inspired by Neil, here is my list of awesome things. What’s on Your List?
- Baking Bread – I love baking almost as such as teaching. Every step is filled with awesome experiences. There’s measuring, mixing, and kneading the dough; watching it rise, feeling my fists sink into it, and punching it down; trying new shapes and flavors; slipping it into a warm oven and watching the dough transform to crusty golden goodness as the entire house fills with that mouth-watering, homey fresh baked bread scent; hearing sighs of contentment and compliments over the result and savoring the crust smeared with butter and honey. Literally every step has something awesome waiting to be experienced. Baking bread is also a FANTASTIC activity to do with your creative Kids!
- Feedback – Receiving positive comments, emails, and even constructive criticism is always an “Awesome!” in my book. I keep these in a file, always accessible for when I need a pick me up and a reminder of the awesome community we are building at Growing Creative Kids.
- Smiles – When a random person or a loved one smiles at me it makes my day. Smiles are awesome 🙂
- The Spark of Creativity – Seeing an idea flash across someone’s face, or seeing a child light up when they experience something new or finally understand an idea that has been giving them trouble. Creativity is awesome.
- Fuzzy socks – Underneath my boring utilitarian black socks there is often hiding a pair of colorful crazy-printed warm fuzzy socks wrapping my feet in a hug. Makes me smile and are totally awesome!
Recognizing and embracing the awesome things in life makes it impossible to be unhappy. A great way of cheering yourself up, and teaching your kids to cheer themselves up is to simply appreciate all the awesome in the world instead of focusing on the negative. Turn it into an art activity, grab some paper, coloring or paints and sparkles and create your own book of awesome.
What makes it on your list?