Tag Archives: Robert D. Smith

What CHALLENGE am I going to overcome today?

What challenge am I going to overcome today?

I’ve been thinking about this question for a while.

If this is to be a daily question, it may be easier. Little challenges every day may be easier to identify.

For me, I’ll start the day with the challenge of getting out of bed. I mean, I get up every day, but I certainly don’t get up early enough to be productive with the hours BEFORE heading to work.

This has been my challenge for quite a few months now. I’m still failing.

Certainly there are other challenges I can focus on. My eating habits for one. My exercise habits for another.

Good grief. Do I overcome ANY challenges each day?

I’m kidding…sort of.

It seems we often focus too much on the failures of our day. Do we even give a moment to the success of our day?

How about you? Do you focus on the failures or the successes? What challenges do you overcome each day?

This post is one in a series of posts centered around the “7 Questions Guaranteed to Create Intensity in Your Day” found in the book 20,000 Days and Counting by Robert D. Smith. (Find the 1st post HERE.)

What memories am I going to create today?

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What memories am I going to create today?

So far in this series on creating intensity in your day we’ve discussed brightening people’s days and being grateful.

Today we look at memories! Specifically, GREAT memories.

We all have memories. Good and bad.

But, do we intentionally set out in the morning to create great memories?

I’m guessing most of you are like me. You set out each morning looking at what you need to do during the day. What tasks need to be completed. What you’ll have for lunch. What meeting or sporting event you’ll be attending in the evening.

You don’t think about making memories.

What if you did? What if you set out each morning with the intent to make great memories?

I’m asking myself the same thing. How would the day go? How would I be intentional about memories?

Sure it’s a bit easier when we’re on a vacation.

We plan some of those vacation memories. At least we plan for the opportunity to create memories. Trips to the lake, to Washington, D.C., to Florida, to the mountains, etc. Our expectations for memories are on high alert during those times.

But what about during your normal daily routine?

What could possibly be memorable about a typical day in the life?

Well, here’s a picture of one of mine. I love this picture. It wasn’t staged. It wasn’t intentional. But it does accurately depict my wife and sons.

This is a great memory.

It still isn’t something planned. It is a memory I was on alert for that evening. And I believe that is something we can all plan. We can plan to be alert to memories as they happen. We can “help” things along when we are looking for a way to create a memory.

I love going to baseball games. (I don’t do it often enough. I need to plan better.)

Does planning for the baseball game constitute planning to create a memory? Not necessarily, but it can certainly create a situation and opportunity!

Funny things happen at sporting events.

I specifically remember going to a Detroit Tigers game a few years ago with my dad and my sons. It rained most of the 2+ hours we drove to the game. During the game we roasted and toasted. We sat in the blazing hot sun for hours. I have absolutely no idea which team won the game. I do remember it began storming immediately after we got back in the car to drive home.

Great memory? Maybe. Certainly something I’ve remembered and my boys remember.

What great memories do you have? Do you have even a tiny bit of intention to create a memory as you go about your regular day? Let me know!

What three things am I most grateful for today?

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What three things am I most grateful for today?

Three things?

Some of you are concerned you can’t come up with three.

Others of you are thinking, “Only three?”

My attitude towards this question revolves around how intentional I can be every day.

As we continue looking at “7 Questions Guaranteed to Create Intensity in Your Day”, this one generally falls in the very easy or very hard category. Nothing in between.

I believe how we begin our day, and maybe even how we ended the previous day, puts us on the path to “very easy” or “very hard” for this question. By intentionally taking time to even think about this question at the start of the day, I believe we can find multiple reasons to be grateful.

But, don’t miss one key word in the question: MOST

What three things are you most grateful for today?

This will certainly vary from person to person.

I also suspect it will vary from day-to-day.

As I think about what I am most grateful for, I keep coming back to the simple fact of being alive. I’m here on earth for another day. For that I am grateful. (But what am I going to do with it?) Each day I have is special. Each day is unique. It really is.

You may think each day is the same, only altered by the weekend, but take a moment. Think about each of the last few days. Make a quick list of what was different in each.

Here’s a quick list I made: Sunshine/rain, incredible cup of coffee, a full tank of gas, a job, family, etc.

Those are pretty easy, and simple.

Let’s get back to the word “most” we mentioned earlier.

For me, “most grateful” looks like the great hug I received from my oldest son. It also looks like the blessing of a great group of friends I interact with on a daily basis (internet friends most certainly count here).

Most of all, I’m grateful every single day for Jesus.

I know, I know! It sounds like the Sunday School answer! You know what I mean. The correct answer to EVERY question in Sunday School is JESUS!

But I’m serious.

Every single day I’m most grateful for what Jesus did for me. If I can begin each day remembering to be grateful for his saving grace, I can’t help but have a grateful filled day.

How about you? What three things are you most grateful for today?