What’s Gone Well Today? ®
Here’s an easy way to recognize others… and in turn change how we look at our day, and our life.
When has someone made your day with the service they’ve given, or something they’ve said or done for you? Sharing these moments may inspire others. They lift the spirit!
On another note asking someone What’s Gone Well Today? ®, becomes life-changing. Conversations have a fresh, inspiring perspective.
In the larger picture our tools help individuals and organizations become more empathetic. We would love to hear from you! Please share an experience that’s gone well in your day.
I made cookies for breakfast, and my mum really appreciated all of the weeding I did for her in the garden, because now she can just plant her flowers without worrying about weeding!
Today I am grateful for the invention of ovens.. mmm cookies! 🙂
Upon sensing that my dad in Hong Kong needed me…
Off I went on a plane (courtesy of my loving partner’s cache of points). Nevermind my self-possessed fears of being jobless and the possibility of missing out on finding my dream job – my dad needs some love! It was absolutely worth it. As soon as my dad saw me at HKG’s Arrivals hall, he broke out into tears and said, “This is why we have children.”
We spent the next few weeks getting to know each other, person to person. Our relationship has always been in the context of father and daughter, and in Chinese culture, that distinction is emphasized to varying extents. However, my dad’s experience living with a rather ‘liberal’ Canadian family during the seventies while he completed his masters has helped him empathize with my western tendencies. (A first-generation Canadian, I could be described as a ‘banana’: yellow on the outside, and white within.)
It was during this time we both noticed my dad has never taken a proper vacation. A holiday where one did nothing but eat, sleep, read, lie in the sun, rinse and repeat. This manifesto, I live and breathe by. All our family vacations have been administered by Dad; and allegedly, a family vacation is the second most stressful thing a person can endure (after mourning a death). I knew this was why I came to Hong Kong: to teach my dad how to relax. Hmm, what better place to expedite this process? Oh, I know! Bali, Indonesia.
As soon as I mentioned it, he stammered, “But where will we stay? How will we get there?” Dad, shush. I have people. All you have to do is find your flip flops. Before he could blink, we arrived in Bali – beautiful, Bali, with its heady scents of frangipani flowers and smiling faces. Call it a coincidence, but my friends from Sitka Surfboards just so happened to be there as well, and it was a great opportunity for my dad to not only heal, but also see his daughter with her friends. My friends, of course, loved my pops: “He’s like an Asian John Lennon…” Within a week, his appetite increased, gained a few pounds, and was lighter in step. I made sure that all he had to worry about was whether he should eat his banana pancake first, or take a dip in the pool.
Sometimes it takes a dive to the bottom before you can start floating back to the surface. My dad has experienced this twice now – the first, in a physical capacity when his body rejected alcohol in a most violent way; and secondly, when years of emotional burden and neglect somehow crossed over into the physical realm, and rearing up as somatic symptoms. He simply cannot stop talking about his feelings now that he’s seen the light. We learned so much from each other, and all thanks to my unemployed status. This is a month I will never regret.
I asked him, “Seriously, Dad, what are you saving for? A nice coffin?”
“Nope. Another trip to Bali.”
Right on, Pops. My job here, for now, is done.
This way of learning from your day, and asking yourself, “what’s gone well today?” has made my outlook on my day brighter and brighter. I’m very grateful for this, so I’ve dedicated a section of my journal that I write in each night, to reflect on what’s gone well today. I’m amazed at what you can learn, even from the smallest moments. All you have to do is open your eyes to this good, and you’ll see it, it’s always there. Let each moment teach you. Thanks!
Your day really plays out to be the way you know it will be. I’ve really noticed that when I look for good, I see it all around me. It may be just in the little things, but really, those are the most important. And when you start to add up those little things, well you really start to realize what a great day today is, and all the days that are to come, will be.
This morning I was able to enjoy my morning coffee in the sunshine, then I took a glorious walk with my partner and our dog, and then I was able to help out my sister with a task she has been having trouble with! So far it has been a glorious day and now I am going to buy one of my favourite sandwiches from the Red Barn Market. Life is good.
I came on this site to see what new WGWT comments were up. Well, I also wanted to share WGWT for me too! 😉
WGWT…at a trade show.. Here are some ways that we’ve found success
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