What Makes a Good Day?
A year ago today I naively booked a non-refundable flight to Albania for June 2020. It is a bit embarrassing that even with all the news about coronavirus by that point, I still had not realized what a big impact it would have on our lives in the year ahead. It is interesting to look back on how we’ve adjusted our routines and habits to find happiness in these new circumstances. I am very lucky that my healthcare job has been both fulfilling and fascinating in the COVID era, and that I had a surprisingly seamless shift to remote work. (I had been expecting not to like it but WOW it is nice to not have the commute!) It seems like we have had many “chapters” of pandemic life, and each time I start to feel hopeful, there is another rough stretch. I’ve been trying to practice taking it one day at a time.
I am a big college basketball fan and love the famous ESPY speech by the late Jimmy Valvano. I first heard it more than 20 years ago and it still stands out as a powerful reflection on what makes a good day. He gave this speech less than two months before dying from cancer and it never fails to move me to tears. There are many epic quotes from his speech and this is one I think about often:
“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”
This framework has been particularly helpful during this pandemic. Even though so many of the things that brought us joy have been put on hold, there is so much to be thankful for and so many small things that can make it a good day if we pay attention.
This latest chapter of the pandemic feels like a weird limbo: the hope of the vaccines, juxtaposed against the unknowns of the new variants. When the vaccines were first approved, there was hope we could to return to more normal life by this summer but now, who knows? This past year made me realize how much of my time and mind space goes into planning future trips. I think I may get as much joy from the planning and anticipation as I do from the trip itself! I’m trying to use this time of extended uncertainty to rewire my mental patterns to stop being so future-oriented. Last year, I read a great book called Chasing My Cure, and the author talks about how his health was so fragile, he could not plan three weeks in advance because he didn’t know if he would be alive then. While most of us are not staring down death so explicitly, in a way we all have that same uncertainty. I’ve been trying to stop taking the future for granted and train my mind to be fully present for the moment and find as much joy as I can each day.
Latest book recommendations:
A Promised Land: What reminded me of this Jimmy Valvano quote most recently was listening to Barack Obama’s latest book on audio. I had been resistant to audiobooks (mostly because I have a hard time focusing and get distracted easily). However, this was the PERFECT book to listen to on audio. Hearing him tell his story was particularly poignant against the backdrop of all that happened in January. It was a long book and I suspect it would have taken me months to get through it on my Kindle. I had gotten the audiobook from the library and I was on a mission to finish before it expired, so I was walking 20k+ steps a day to stay on pace! Virtually every time I listened to it, I would laugh, cry, and think. What a book.
The Education of an Idealist: Obama talked about Samantha Power in his book and I was hesitant to tackle another LONG book but now that I discovered the power of memoirs in audio format, I decided to jump in. It didn’t quite have the moments of humor of Obama’s book but it gave me a lot to think about it and I realize how much I have to learn about geopolitics.
The Midnight Library: I’ve been trying to read more fiction since I tend to gravitate towards nonfiction and memoirs. I enjoyed this one, it was the Goodreads Winner for Best Fiction of 2020.
Welcoming the Unwelcome: Highly recommend this! Pema Chödrön has so much wisdom and this genre has become my favorite.
Your turn! How is 2021 going for you so far? Any book recommendations?
I loved City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert. There is a long timeline, it takes us from before WWII all the way through it, and notes that things are rarely the same before a war as after it. That may apply to what we are living through right now, too.
Hi Kristin! Thanks so much for the recommendation, I have an increasing appreciation for historical fiction these days. This book was not on my radar but I looked it up and it sounds like a good one, I just added it to my list!
Great post! I’m reading Bill Gate’s new book about climate change which has been very educational for me. I also love every book by Elizabeth Gilbert especially The Signature of All Things.
Hi John! Thanks for your comment, I will add Bill Gates’ new book to my list. I just watched an interesting documentary about him on Netflix!