2020-08-07 The 1-Minute Exercise

In one How I Met Your Mother episode, the gang spends Thanksgiving with a former classmate. They call him “the blitz” because every time he leaves the room, something amazing happens.
Throughout the show, the curse moves from person to person, causing them to miss out on both little moments and big events. The lesson of the story is that in order to live your best life, first, you have to be there for it — and not just on Thanksgiving.
At one point, Marshall states this directly by quoting Ferris Bueller:
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.”
There are many specific variants of this advice when it comes to achieving certain goals we have.
We tell people, “Don’t wait for love. Work on yourself, then get out there and choose someone.” We say, “Don’t wait for retirement. You might not have the money or energy to do what you enjoy.” We say, “Don’t wait until January 1st to set your goals. Start working on what matters to you now.”
And yet, when it comes to gratitude, to feeling grateful, happy, and fulfilled, we wait for Thanksgiving — maybe Christmas — to roll around before we give that one a go. Why?
The evidence on gratitude is clear. It makes you happier, increases your energy levels, gives you a more positive outlook on the future, and even strengthens your physiological well-being. I don’t know about you, but I want those benefits every day, not just once a year — especially if it only takes a minute to attain them.