Have you ever tried to set an intention for your day and seen what happened? I’ve been setting an intention for the day as part of my thought experiment. I tried setting intentions to be patient, to have a sense of ease, to notice beauty, etc. but a few minutes later my intentions would be forgotten in the hodgepodge of the 60,000 or so thoughts that take place in a typical day.

This week for the first time the intention stuck. It was so easy I had to share and I don’t think it’s me I think it’s the intention itself. I’ve been setting the intention to experience joy and now I’m finding joy everywhere. It’s like I tuned into the joy station or something. It’s in the books I’m reading, it’s coming in the subject line of emails, people are mentioning the word over and over again on my calls.

My best joy experience was so simple. I woke up a little high from the joy of the previous day. So I set the same intention. I got my kids these little mini cupcakes as a semi bribe for being super good during a stressful morning and because I secretly wanted to try out the new cupcake shop that opened in our neighborhood. When they came home and found them on little plates the looks on their faces were priceless. Another time, I would have missed it completely. I would have run out of time to get the cupcakes. I would have missed their faces because I was looking at my phone or annoyed at the backpacks thrown across the floor. But instead, I got to experience it. Pure joy.

I hope this inspires you to find a little more joy in your day. So simple, totally free, and all around you just waiting to be noticed.