A Scientific Discovery/The Happiness Project #23

Some of the most exciting scientific discoveries have been pursued.  Take Pierre and Marie Curie, for example.  They chased after an understanding of radiation until the effects of it actually killed them.

Other discoveries are more or less stumbled over.  That is what happened to me last night.

I rode my mountain bike to the church building.  Last summer, I did not ride this bike at all because any day that was nice enough to ride the bike was also nice enough to ride my motorcycle.  Not much of a contest there.

Then this past winter, I hurt my shoulder and for the first time in more than 28 years I did not play hockey (In fact, I am certain that I have been on skates every year for the last 44 or 45 until this past winter too). 

All that to say - I was feeling lazy and out of shape and I thought that riding my bike would be a good way to get back into the swing of things.

And then it happened!  You have heard of "Continental Drift" (the scientific theory that states that earth used to be one big land mass that broke into chunks and moved away from one another).......

Well - last night.....  I discovered "Estevan Drift".

Our house is definitely much, much farther away from the church building than it used to be!!!

I used to be able to bike over there without breaking a sweat.  Last night I was puffing and straining and thinking about how much nicer it was when these two locations were closer together.  My legs were sore and rubbery.  I was really tired.  It was bizarre!  Even more strange is the fact that no one else has noticed this yet, but I can't come up with any other explanation.

So there you go!  Sometimes you chase great discoveries and other times they find you!  :)
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The Happiness Project:  Think in Concrete Terms

We need to be able to measure our progress.  You can't accomplish an abstract goal.  Saying, "I want to be a better parent" or "a better worker" or "a better friend" is almost useless because it is too vague.

To be motivating and bring real improvement, our goals must be specific.  Without this you will always be frustrated.  How would you know if you were a better worker or not? 

A better way to think is to say, "I want to finish this task in half the time".  That way you can tell if you are improving.  You will find out if your goal is realistic or not.  It will give you something to work on.

Happy people think in real, not abstract, terms.