How To Make Each Day Special

There are a lot of days in a year, so it’s not surprising if you feel sad or bored from time to time. The days start to blur into each other and sometimes you just feel a bit ‘bleh’. It’s like you’re in a rut. That’s fine, but it can be quite frustrating. Fortunately, you have control over what you do in a day and you can avoid that ‘bleh’ feeling by making each day a little special.

Sometimes, when Monday rolls around, we find that we’re already looking forward to the next weekend, or living for that fun party or dinner we’ve got coming up. But what about today? Here’s how you can look forward to each new day and make sure every day is a little bit special.

What is really important to you?

What matters to you in life? And how can you do a little more of that on a daily basis? Psychologist Myrthe Weijschedé shares that it’s important to live your values: “Do something each day that’s important to you, something in line with your values. Even if it’s something small.”

An example from Myrthe: “I think self-awareness and personal development are really important. So, I’ll check in with myself each day by starting or ending the day with a short meditation. This means I have at least one moment each day when I feel truly myself. Even if it was a bad day when nothing went right, I’m still doing something that is important and valuable to me.”

“My goal is not to remain the same but to live in such a way that each day, year, moment, relationship, conversation , and crisis is the material I use to become a truer, more beautiful version of myself.” – Glennon Doyle

What are your core values and what do you consider important? Maybe it’s connection and you could try calling people more often. Maybe it’s health and you could try cooking more healthy meals.

👉🏼 This article can help you to figure out what your values are: How to Live Your Values (and Learn More About Yourself in the Process)

Experience more awe

You’ll feel much happier if you experience a little ‘awe’ each day. Or in other words, something that inspires you. Research shows that awe leads to increased satisfaction and curiosity about your life, gentleness towards others, and a sense that you have more time.

Awe helps us to pay attention to things outside ourselves and makes us feel part of something bigger. There are many ways you can cultivate this feeling.

An article by the University of Berkeley states that we might experience awe when watching a beautiful sunset or witnessing a world-class performance. But you’ll also find that little things in life, such as music, art, architecture, spiritual experiences, and your own accomplishments, can also inspire this same feeling.

Figure out which things inspire you and make you feel this sense of awe and try to incorporate them into your daily routine. For example, try starting off your day by playing a favorite song that always gives you goosebumps or walking through a forest at sunset.

What would make today great?

Another way to make each day special is to literally ask yourself this question: What would make today great? Myrthe explains: “Make a list of (small) things that are important to you and make you feel energized, such as taking a hike, preparing an elaborate meal, or simply calling your mother. Try to do one thing from that list each day.”

Psychologist Inga-Marie Freund adds: “It’s good to focus on the little things that make each day special, such as a tasty cup of coffee, spending an extra hour in bed, or singing your heart out to your favorite song in the shower.

Ultimately, it isn’t normal for each day of your life to be completely fantastic, and that’s okay. We have to accept and appreciate the ups and downs that we face every day. It’s particularly important to do this while living in a time when our social media is full of people who seem to be happy all the time.

“Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things.” – Frank A. Clark

Do something for your future self

“Doing something for your future self makes you feel good and helps to make each day special,” explains psychologist Margit Nooteboom. Ask yourself: What can I do today that will benefit me tomorrow or at some point in the future? “This could be anything from reading an interesting article to cleaning your windows or cooking a new recipe,” Margit explains.

Do something for somebody else

“Similarly, adding value to another person’s life helps to make each day special,” Margit continues. People who do things for other people experience more happiness in their own lives than people who don’t, according to several studies.

Fun fact: This doesn’t need to be a grand gesture. Even when you do something small (like send a card, greet a stranger or let someone go in front of you at the cash register) a change takes place in your brain that makes you happier, research shows.