A couple of years ago, I was watching Barbara Walters year-end special on the Most Fascinating People of 2015. She asked comedian Kevin Hart to complete the sentence “Happiness is…” and he replied, “Happiness is having something to look forward to.”
I thought it was an unusual but honest and insightful answer. The daily rhythm of life can become tedious. Most of us work to live, and the reality is in North America, the balance of working and living is out of whack. We work too much, and don’t take time to enjoy life.
That’s when you need to have something to look forward to. I find this longing grows even more in the winter months. By mid-February, Dave and I begin to yearn for our next adventure. We start pouring over calendars and road atlases and looking up vacation rentals on vrbo.com and airbnb.com. Where will the winds take us? What will our next adventure be?
My brother Don is the king of having something to look forward to. He takes about four or five trips a year. As soon as he unpacks his bags from his last vacation, he is planning his next trip. I think he would shrivel up into a hole if he didn’t have something planned. And as it happens, Don is a pretty happy guy.
This week’s #HappyAct is plan your next vacation, a weekend away, a special night with friends. While away a snowy Sunday making plans and dreaming of your next adventure, big or small.
Happy Act 
I’ve recently read “The Nordic Theory of Everything” (by Anu Partanen) and “The Year of Living Danishly” (by Helen Russell). Both books talk about work-life balance in Scandinavia and how it seems to be more enlightened. Partanen’s book, in particular, also shoots down some of the tired old cliches many people trot out about Scandinavian “socialist nanny states”.
The importance of travel is discussed too: as a result, I’m thinking about a post on travel-related books for my travel blog.
Pierre, if there’s an expert on the importance of travel and having something to look forward to, it’s you, man! Looking forward to reading that post…
Laurie – here’s a link to that post: http://www.captmondo.com/pierrevanderhout/2017/02/18/books-and-travel-guides/
Sorry for not posting it earlier, but I have a good excuse: I was in Italy!
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