Like a lot of moms, I read tons of parenting books when my boys were little. I recall one suggestion was to ask your child “What was the best thing that happened to you today?” each night during dinner or before bed.

I was reminded of that habit recently when my friend Shawn told me he and his wife end every day by asking each other, “What was the most exciting thing that happened to you today?”

Best and exciting feel completely different. Best is good. Exciting is better. I was intrigued and wanted to acknowledge the excitement in my day, too. The interesting thing I discovered is that what you look for, you will often find. Great, exciting things happen around us every day, but most of us don’t take time to notice.

In 2022, I interviewed Dr. Michelle Rozen for a story for Fast Company. She told me that our brains are wired to find negativity. It’s a leftover trait from when our survival relied on avoiding real threats like lions or bears. Since we probably won’t risk an attack simply venturing into the world, our brain uses its default system to look for other problems. And that’s what we focus on. 

Fortunately, you can rewire your brain’s settings by intentionally looking for the good in life. Seek out exciting. Look for WOWs.

WOWs come in all shapes and sizes. A WOW! can be something you planned, such as going to a concert or taking a trip. A recent WOW! for me was attending a butterfly release held by Alive Hospice. My sister and I released butterflies in honor of David and our mom, both of whom were cared for by the Alive Hospice team. It was an emotional event with joy and sadness.

A WOW! can also be something that happens spontaneously, when you happen to be in the right place at the right time. You may get a glimpse of an eagle flying, for example, or you may strike up a conversation with someone sitting next to you only to discover that you have a mutual friend or that they work in a field you want to break into.

If you’re open to WOWs, you’ll find they occur more often, especially if you’re in tune to what’s around you. Planned and spontaneous WOW! Moments are important. The key is to make planning or looking for them a daily habit, or life can get in the way. And I learned first-hand that life is too short. 

So, make time for WOWs. And at the end of the day, ask yourself, “What was the most exciting thing that happened today? What was my WOW?” And if the day got away, just vow to WOW! tomorrow.