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Loading...By Sid Madge, Meee
There are obvious drawbacks to virtual cake, but if your team works remotely, it really is worth gathering everyone together for a Zoom celebration when one of your colleagues becomes another year older. It is such an easy morale booster – even better when people can join in in person. This got me and my team thinking about all the special occasions and celebrations that there are around the world, and the opportunities they give us to bring us a little bit of joy and magic. These are often found in tiny moments and all it takes is a little shift of perspective to really see and appreciate them. I’m a great believer in instant change, little ‘micro-moments’ of learning or adaptation that allow us to actively take charge of our situation and emotions in the moment, reset, and bring more of our best to help ourselves and others. Each micro-moment intervention is designed to be actionable in a minute and I’ve written three books on these micro-moments for life, work, and family.
Image: Yay Images
Here are a few occasions in March could be a great excuse for more joy and magic?
20th March: UN International Day of Happiness
Although happiness can mean different things to different people, one element is common to us all. And that’s the messages sent by a genuine smile. This is possibly the only truly internationally recognizable and understandable symbol of happiness in the world. In a study conducted in the UK, British researchers found that one smile can provide the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 chocolate bars; they also found that smiling can be as stimulating as receiving up to £16,000 in cash.
It’s also worth remembering that happiness is not a permanent state. Often, it’s fleeting as we go about our daily activities but when we pay attention to the little moments that make us happy and revel in them, we can draw out our sense of wellbeing. Is your morning coffee just amazing or did you enjoy chatting to a client or customer? Often, it’s the simplest of things like singing Happy Birthday to a colleague that sprinkles our lives with magic. We don’t need the grand gestures or the amazing holiday – we just need to pay attention to some of the little things that bring us joy and wallow in them for a little longer.
Take a moment to smile at someone. Just notice the world around you and smile. Like a smile, smiling is contagious.
26th March: Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
I’m particularly excited about this one! Make Up Your Own Holiday Day was the holiday created to encourage people to do more of what they love. Now there are a tonne of interesting, intriguing, and imaginative holidays already out there, like World Stationery Day (April the 22nd), National Spaghetti Day (4th of January), National Hugging Day (21st January), and National Zipper Day (April the 29th). What’s fascinating is the imagination and creativity to name, create and participate in such great activities.
Take a moment to consider what your ‘make up your own holiday’ will be. Perhaps you could introduce something that will be fun for your team: Wear a Hat To Work Day; Donut Day; Lunchtime Quiz Day.
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is now a huge annual event. And of course, we can celebrate the achievements of women all year round. There are so many great women past and present, but one I’ve been particularly in awe of is Marie Curie. Curie is recognized for her ground-breaking Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and for helping to break gender barriers during her lifetime. Curie was the first person in the world, male or female, to win two Nobel Prizes. Her family won four! And she managed it all without a fancy lab. During WW1, Marie Curie developed mobile radiology units which were used at the front hospitals in Furnes, Hoogstade, Adinkerke, De Panne, Beveren and Roesbrugge. Training 150 women to operate the “Little Curie” it is estimated that the total number of wounded soldiers receiving X-ray exams during the war exceeded one million.
Marie Curie was an extraordinary person, who worked tirelessly as a scientist and a humanitarian. She never let her gender stop her, even while working in a male-dominated world. Instead, she mobilized a small army of women to reduce human suffering and win World War I.
Take a moment to think of all the amazing women in your life that bring magic to your world. Make a point of expressing your appreciation – you don’t need to limit yourself to doing this on International Women’s day (March 8th). A little more appreciation for all the people we are grateful for is a wonderful way to spread more magic and boost morale.
Whatever March brings to you and your team, enjoy the little wins, go searching for them if you have to, and spread the magic around.
Sid Madge is a transformation and change specialist and founder of Meee. Meee draws on the best creativity and thinking from the worlds of branding, psychology, neuroscience, education and sociology, to help people embrace change and achieve extraordinary lives.
From pupils to CEOs, we’ve helped thousands find their magic to transform themselves, their communities, and their organizations. From leaders of PLCs and SMEs to parents, teachers, students, carers, the unemployed, and prison inmates we help people excel.
Sid Madge is also author of the Meee in Minute series of books which each offer 60 ways to change your life, work-, or family-life in 60 seconds.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.
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