The High on Happiness “Best of Class” Awards
Tallest Weed
The country fairs are in full swing around here and their buildings bulge with blue ribbons: Best Apple Pie, Biggest Pumpkin, Best Quilt, Strongest Mule. They remind me of a happiness game I love to play, the “Best of Class” awards.
Here’s how it works: In the morning, you pick out a category – Best Cloud, Most Beautiful Scene, Best Smile, Funniest Moment, Most Interesting Fact, Best Music – and on your way home from work, or over dinner, or before bed, you choose the winner of the day.
Once I spent an hour writing categories on little slips of paper that I folded up and put in a big bowl, and every morning I’d pick one and that would be my focus of the day.
I kept a running list in my journal for awhile. What a hoot when I stumbled across it years later! I had written detailed enough descriptions of some of the winners to bring back the memory as vividly as if I’d just picked it yesterday.
The game can take on all kinds of variations. You can look for the same “best of” for a week, for example. I choose “best nature scenes” and shot pictures of them every day for a year last year. You can focus on a different sense every day – Most interesting texture, coolest song, finest fragrance, most delicious food, best shade of blue. If you’re studying to master a subject, you can keep a log of the best fact you learned about it every day. It’s makes for great dinner conversation when you play it with your partner or kids.
All in all, it’s a fabulous little game. It exercises your attention and focus, hones your awareness and keeps you in the present. And besides all that, it’s a whole lot of fun. It’s a top contender on my list of happiness practices.
Give it a whirl. Let me know how it turns out for you. I’d love to hear.
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