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!
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.)
My blog (the funnier side) contains many if my great memories.
I do not always excel at this, but any day my child is not at school, I try to think of what memories can be created that day. Sometimes, it’s so small, something seemingly ordinary. But then, that is what she brings up later. There is also the moment of her playing in an ocean the first time, completing a color run race, and more, but small moments can be extraordinary too.
“Always” is tough. Sometimes, and with intention, is great!
Rick, I love the memory of the baseball game. I have many of those with my Dad and my son and my dad and my son (hope that makes sense). Usually I don’t know who won the game either. I can remember the huge omelet we had at the hotel before the spring training game and meeting a former pro player, and tons of great stuff that never goes away. thanks for reminding me to find those moments more often and to “smell the roses”. Great post, my Friend.
Awesome! Thanks for reading and joining the conversation!
While telling my son that I won a TobyMac CD (his favorite artist) and we might get to see him backstage at an upcoming concert, there was a TOTALLY awesome sunset happening against a wall of clouds. It was a 2-for-1 memory.
Outstanding!