Happy UP! Part 5 .71428571 Done

Well, we have arrived where we are .71428571 complete on our journey together through our experiment with YFP (your favorite person....that's me!!!) volunteering as the lab rat! Will we ever really be done with this, however? Nope...not by a long shot! Here is what I am finding out - it takes a real conscious effort to stay focused on the good things in life. I am not saying that you don't notice them. I am talking about stopping, looking at them, appreciating them, analyzing them, etc.

The study that was behind our experiment this week is really nothing more than a validation of what we have all heard our entire lives: Stop and Smell the Roses.

I have a question for you. Are you ready for it? Really....I want you to really be ready. Don't give the, "yeah, yeah, yeah, Scott...I'm ready. Shut up and get on with the question. " If you are thinking that, you are probably just like most of the population. You have been trained to do that. If you are thinking anything like that, you aren't ready for the question. So, knock it off!

Take a couple of slow, deep breaths, and then close your eyes and take a couple of more deep breaths. Close your eyes......DO IT!!!! I hate it when I have to raise my voice. Don't even make me jump out of this computer and shut them for you. Just shut your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. Then, come back.

OK....you are in an honest space now. What does "stop and smell the roses" REALLY, HONESTLY mean to you when someone says that to you. NO, I don't want to hear your flowery description of what it SHOULD mean. We will get to that. What does it really mean to you in the midst of your hurry, worry day? Jot that down....YES....write it down. Now, you can compare that to what it SHOULD mean to you...not to me...but to you. Jot that down. Compare the two. How do they differ? What does that gap look like? What can you do about it? (hey, a dose of HappyUp may be one solution.....7 days....journaling, spreadsheeting, smoke signaling, whatever....some record of three good things everyday.

It's 10 a.m on this Saturday morning....here's what I have so far.

Tile Guys - they showed up...on time. They liked me enough to squeeze me in as a little extra side job on a Saturday morning. These guys are busy. Why am I so thrilled about tile guys? First, it is great when you find a go to person or people that you can trust. I now have a garage door guy, a plumber, and tile guys that do great work and that I can absolutely count on. These people are at the tops of their trades. I am building relationship with them. Now, hopefully, I don't have to use them to often but, when I do, they are there. Oh, I have a great granite installer too! My electrician is OK. My carpenter does impeccable work. My mechanic is tremendous. My dentist is superb. My doctor is solid. My opthomologist is fabulous. I need to have people in my life that I can trust. Back to the tile guys, they just came back and did an extension of a project that I had them work on earlier. It was a great call to take the tile out a little farther....two more feet of tile made all the difference on a return wall in my kitchen.

Family that I wasn't born into - after hitting the gym, I stopped at "my place" for breakfast. It's my brekko hangout. I can always count on some form of my best friend's family being there for breakfast on Saturday morning. It might be his parents, his brothers or one brother or one brother and his wife, etc. I join them more than occasionally. I never give notice that I am stopping in. When I drop in, they take me in just like I am part of their family. It's nice to be welcomed and liked. Do I give that same gift to other people? Hmmmmm....I'm not sure that I liked that question much.

Taxes - they are done and they just came in the mail! I had the tax appointment a week ago. While I got the verbal from my accountant a few days ago, it's always great to see the numbers in front of me. (Oh my goodness...I forgot to list my accountant as another person that does great things for me.) "Scott....how can you put taxes on your good list?" Wow...you people are tough but I can understand it. Here is something that I figured out a long time ago. I hate writing a check on April 15. It is something that I really hate.....hate...hate...hate. I hate to have hate in my life. So, rather than go through the dreadful experience every year, I fixed it. While I hate writing the check, I LOOOOOOOOOVE getting checks back from my Uncle. I just pay in a bunch extra during the year. Yep, it's that simple. "Scott...that's not very good financial advice. You could be earning interest on that money!" C'mon....what are we talking about? How much interest? Besides, you and I both know that you just end up spending it as you go. Who's zoomin who here? Now, I get to look forward to those checks back from the government....nice tidy sums. Then, when I get them, the amount comes in a chunk that is investable or spendable on something really cool rather than the monthly dribble that would have rolled in.....and rolled right back out. During good times or bad, I always tried to pay more in....and somehow I always got by. Yes, perhaps I have deluded myself but I have deluded myself into an annual event that.........makes me Happy UP! Hmmmmmmm.....what other things could I apply this concept to?

Happy UP! If I beat out any of the above three today, I'll let you know and do a HappyUp 5.5!