5 ways to find the extraordinary in the day to day.png

Call it what you want, being positive, looking on the bright side, seeing the glass half full ... I call it a valuable skill. Finding the ExtraOrdinary in the day to day messes and to do lists is essential to creating a life of meaning. I honestly believe it is the key to a happy life. If we can't see the beauty in the small moments we'll never be able to find it in the big ones. If you're like me and need a little reminder of where to find the extraordinary in the daily grind, here are my top 5 ways.

1. Change of Scenery

Our family loves heading out into the woods to camp, we can rough it with the best of them. But boy, after several days of no running water, electricity, clean bathrooms or showers it makes you so thankful for your home. Sure there are bills to pay and bathrooms to clean but having a change of scenery helps you to see what you do have in better light.

If you're looking around and feeling like you just can't see how what you have is 'good' then head on out of your regular day to day activities (not onto Pinterest....out into the real world ;), remove a few of your amenities and get a change of scenery.

I'm serious about this amenities thing ... ditch wifi, your phone, electricity, the constant 'must do to be anything' - and all of a sudden you have space to breath, think and realize all that you have to be grateful for.

2. Ditch the Must haves

Any ounce of discontent that we're wrestling with stems from wanting something else. The million dollar question is 'is what you are wanting really necessary?'

I'll be happy when.... the kids are older, I have a new car, I have the home I've dreamed about, I have more time, more space, more, more, bigger, better...

When our happiness is linked to having more, we have hitched our hearts onto the unattainable. There will always be something new and better, Target will always have more stuff in their dollar bins ;). The key is to disconnect our minds from all of the talk that says you NEED more in order to be happy more.

Reality is, in our modern western culture we all have so much that we freely dump loads off at goodwill, we can't close our closets and dresser drawers, we spend most of our time picking up, moving and cleaning the things we do have. How could MORE stuff possibly make us happier?

It's time to ditch the must haves so our hearts can be content right here, right now, in these moments, with exactly what we do have. Be like a kid again and go unearth some of those old candles in your closet, or some dishes you haven't used in a while....and play with them. Use them, enjoy them.

3. Ask New Questions

This one right here changed everything for me. I kept looking at all of the things in our home and thinking, what's the point of having all of this stuff! Is it really just so I can take care of it, dust it, clean it, put it away? Then I started asking, how can I use these things to help someone?

Not just by donating them, but by actually USING them. What if instead of seeing our tables and chairs as another piece of furniture to keep looking nice - we saw it as a place waiting to be filled with friends, with people needing family.

What if we saw our kitchens as places to be used to take care of our families, to cook for those in need, to share meals and create memories.

Start asking yourself how you can use your 'things' to bring people together? It might just change how you see them.

4. is there a way to do this together?

I used to joke that I was a better Mom when I was with other Moms. The reality is...it's true! When we do life with other people it encourages us, gives us more grace, a new perspective, helps us see we aren't alone - basically it makes us better at living.

If you're struggling to find the extraordinary you might just need to invite some friends to join you for the every day. Go shopping together. Make dinner together. Help each other clean out your closets. Volunteer together. Plant a garden together.

It's really not about what you're doing, it's about doing it together. Living life together creates moments, and that is where the extraordinary is waiting.

5. The Mystery Object

Do you remember that old show, Who's Line is it Anyways? They played this game with props where each team would grab a random object and they had to come up with ideas for what it was. What made it so funny was that they had to be creative. If it was a baseball bat they couldn't act like it was a baseball bat they had to come up with a new purpose for it.

We need to do the same thing with our lives, our skills, the things we do. We need to take each part and look at it as if it's a new thing. Something we haven't been doing forever and try to see it from a new perspective.

I cook almost every day. It's pretty normal to me. It actually gets downright boring at times having to always come up with more food to feed people...especially little people who don't always want to eat what I make! And then we started hosting freedom dinners.

These dinners changed my perspective on how important cooking is. All of a sudden cooking was the tool to bring people together, it has become a tool give women freedom from human trafficking. Woah...and I thought it was mundane. Not anymore.

What mystery objects are in your life? How can you see them with not a renewed purpose but a different purpose.

If you love cooking, I challenge you to host a Dinner that Makes a Difference. It will change how you view your kitchen forever. To make it super simple for you, we put together our How to Host Guide.

So grab your friends, open your cupboards and start seeing what you have with a new perspective. You're going to be surprised by the extraordinary life you are surrounded with.