Wednesday, January 12, 2011

1000 awesome things by Neil Pasricha

As I went to bed last night with images of the devastating floods in Queensland searing my brain I wondered whether I should 'unschedule' this post.  But sometimes we need a distraction don't we? This is mine...
I may have been living under a rock, but I only became aware of this book
(which is apparently a worldwide best seller) and this associated blog (which apparently has won blog of the year) yesterday through reading an article on The Happiness Project blog...oh my, the ways that blog surfing can eat into your time...when you're not watching the flood coverage...but hey, I'm on holiday :)
The Happiness Project led me to this TED talk (below) and I was completely and utterly mesmerised for the 17 or so minutes it took to watch the author Neil Pasricha talk about his take on 'awesome'. I like his philosophy. It's simple. We're not talking rocket science here (that would be boring anyway). But it's simple because it's about simple pleasures, and appreciating them...which is sometimes not so simple. Not when we're in pain, or sad or weighed down by grief. Or dealing with a force of nature. 
But as Pasricha says, how awesome is it to crawl into clean sheets, hit a string of green lights on the way home, have a supermarket checkout line open and you get to be the first one through...people in parts of Queensland would certainly think those pleasures were awesome right about now I suspect.
Do take the time to view this if you can. I bet it'll put a smile on your dial :)

For me one of those simple awesome things is waking up thinking it's a work day and then realising it's actually not! Or walking outside into my little courtyard and finding that the first gardenia of the season has blossomed. What simple things (apart from donating to the flood relief fund and watching Premier Anna Bligh's graceful handling of this tragedy) do you find awesome?

12 comments:

  1. That was truly awsome!
    Thanks so much for sharing!

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  2. Very interestting post ,I know what you mean about the floods ,it was hard to drag myself away from the telly last know ,very emotional times!
    ~Sharon~

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  3. Dear Kerry,
    We are all devastated at the floods in Queensland. I was just talking about it with my friend on the phone. Watching it on the news, it looks like a third world country.....just terrible.
    I love the video and Neil Pasricha is an inspiration. I think that I do live my life by his values but that is probably genetic.
    Here's to an awesome life filled with the 3 A's. XXXX

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  4. He is great. I remember reading about him and seeing him when his blog went wild but back then I didn't know what blogs really were! So thanks for introducing me to the world of blogs and to this one. Another one to read! mary

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  5. We did an extract in the mag a few months ago, such a cool book.
    And I agree about Anna Bligh; she is handling it all incredibly well.
    Love you mummy poo xx

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  6. Please know, Kerry, that we are following the news of the floods here in the U.S. and I am saying prayers for all of you to safely make it through.

    I am going to come back to look at the video...do you think the book is available on Amazon.com?

    XO,
    Jane

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  7. I think it's a great post Kerry and a timely distraction. The simple pleasures in life are always worth treasuring even, if it's possible, when you're going through a hard time. We're sitting here hoping and praying for everyone caught up in the floods, it's just dreadful.xx

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  8. What a wonderful post, Kerry. What I find awesome is having my beloved home with me because he can't get into the city. We have an extra day to share with each other that we wouldn't normally have.
    Thanks for reminding us of the little things.
    xoxo
    fi

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  9. You're not alone. I've never heard of this book either but I'll be buying it! A few of the simple awesome things for me: getting a parking spot super close to the store entrance . . . waking up to find the kitchen free of all dirty dishes B/c Jason did them all . . . I could go on and on!

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  10. Hi Kerry
    Yes the flood situation is beyond belief and my heart goes out to all affected.. I probably do need to be more aware of the little things that make me happy.. I started the year with that in mind.. my happiness prescription haha.. just the simple things that create joy.. and I think viewing the ocean and nature at it's best... often lightens my day... a walk by the bay.. Must check out the book.. thanks for the reference.. ciao xxx Julie

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  11. Loved the video..will check out his book...tks for posting this...it truly is awesome!

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  12. I'll definitely have to have a closer look at that..Rachaelxx

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