Appreciate the Unexpected Delights

Check out the pink blanket in our formal Living Room!

The other day I was walking through my home when I discovered an unexpected delight in our formal living room. My youngest daughter (age 3) had hidden her pink blanket behind our sofa, in a place that would not be noticeable unless walking in from a certain angle.

I had to smile - these are the days that will be over in no time at all, as our children grow up and no longer have pink blankets, let alone hide them in the areas of the house we *try* to keep clutter-free.

Thinking it over for a few days now, it seems that there are unexpected delights to be appreciated in many aspects of life, including the workplace. Does your office have a shower, for example? Could you go for a walk or run at lunch and still be ready to face the afternoon? Do people bring in food to share, or bring in a cake to celebrate all birthdays that month? Does your boss let you work off energy with manual dexterity toys placed on conference room tables? Do they hang Super Hero signs in the bathrooms? What about a company "happy hour" once a week, complete with company-paid Uber/Lyft/taxi drivers to take people home? Does your company allow employees to bring their pets to work? Do they hold Safety Appreciation Lunches? Free gourmet coffee? Bike racks in the office? Wireless speakers to allow music to port around the building for office parties? A driving range on the roof? Live band during the annual company picnic? Garden space on campus? A fitness center? Yoga class? Pizza Fridays? Paid sabbaticals (and decorated office space upon return)?

Some of these delights are extremely unexpected (golf on the roof?), but each example is one that I have seen somewhere in my career. Still, unexpected delights don't have to be anything extra-ordinary. Do you especially enjoy working with a friendly colleague? Does your boss compliment your work and offer coaching, rather than micro-management? When you smile at your peers, do they smile back?

So many people bypass the joy in life and focus on the drudgery. Yet I will submit that if you look for the uplifting, and you're bound to find it! It doesn't always matter exactly *what* you do for work, there are ways to help others, be kind, and make a difference everywhere. And a little joy tends to be infectious.

I challenge each reader to try stepping outside yourself in your workplace or home and seeing a little something out of the ordinary as an unexpected delight. In other words, look for that pink blanket.

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