To Have a Delightful Day

 Do you ever have a day where everything just goes right?  

Yeah, me neither... but yesterday I did!  

I woke up in the morning and thought, "Today is going to be delightful!" (No, this is not standard practice for me. It was new.)  But on this particular day it just popped into my head, and I set an intention.  Then I got up and got going and forgot about it.  

I somehow had more time than usual in the morning.  I even did a little reading before church, completely unheard of!  The speakers at church seemed unusually good, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  The rest of the day followed suit, with pleasant conversations with my husband, more fun reading, and a wonderful dinner at our son and his girlfriend's house, complete with more enjoyable conversation.  At the close of the day I sat on the bed and rehearsed to my husband all the wonderful things about the day (also not normal for me).  It was just the best day!  

There are not that many days I would like to live over again. Out of every 365 days in a year, there are almost none I would repeat, but this day was one of them.  Why is that?   Why this one?  What made it different?

As I pondered this question, I remembered that I woke up and set the intention for a delightful day.  I wondered if that had something to do with it.  

 According to Sara Weand, LPC, "When setting an intention, it's like laying the foundation for what you'd like to have, feel and experience versus just being a passive participant going through the motions.  Intentions provide you with the opportunity to actively participate in your life the way you want to live it."  

While I cannot control all the aspects of my day, I can control how I feel about it.  For example, I could have tuned out what was being said in church and called it a long, boring meeting.  I could have spent time scrolling on my phone instead of talking to my husband, etc. I could have not paid attention to all the good things in my day, and just looked at the bad instead.  

Even when unpleasant things do happen, we can choose how we look at them, which may not change the situation, but will definitely change how we feel, and how we feel is pretty much everything, isn't it?

Have you ever unintentionally set a negative intention?  Statements like, "It's going to be so stressful" or "It's going to be rough" or "I can't wait until it's over" are setting intentions.  

Of course it's going to be stressful if you decide it's going to be!  Of course it's going to be rough if you have already decided that's how it's going to be.  Of course it's going to be miserable if you can't wait until it's over!  

Try setting an intention that you want, and see what happens.  "It's going to be energizing", "It's going to be easy", and "I'm going to enjoy this experience" have a whole different feel about them.

Consider setting a positive intention for your day, or what's left of it.  I think you'll be surprised at your result!