Use this simple exercise to make every day the best day…

Two weeks ago I was visiting family in northern Utah. We were going to a historical location. When we arrived I noticed a familiar face pulling things out of trunk of his car right next to where we parked. It was my old friend from College! 

I could not believe that I would run into him at that location. It was a joyful encounter. We connected again and had laughs and shared stories from over the years and then we went our way. I was happy the rest of the day because of that encounter.

Have you ever had a bad day and then, out of the blue, an old friend pops up? It changes every thing. Even though it is unexpected, you go through a rush of emotions and excitement. Those encounters often make the rest of your day the best day and you go home and tell your family and friends about your old friend.

How do you use this to your advantage? It is not likely that you will run into an old friend every day. Luckily you do not have to depend on old friends going out of their way to brighten up your day, you can do that all on your own. When you were thinking

about the last time you ran into an old friend it probably made you smile. The brain has an amazing capacity to experience powerful emotions just from the imagination.

Scientists of discovered that the brain has what is called, “mirror neurons.” These mirror neurons allows us to experience pain with out the injury, success with out the personal accomplishment, and empathy just by watching others experiencing those emotions. Using this technique I will show you how to change your day into the best one and in the process brighten the day for every one around you.

Just by imagining a past experience you can feel the emotions attached to the experience. You can also change how your day to day interactions effect you, for better or worse, by changing how you think about them.

Here is the secret: treat every one like a long lost friend. In your mind you can look at every one and imagine that they are your friend that you have not seen for ages and guess what?! They will respond with the same excitement that you show. Now there is a line. You do not tell a stranger or coworker, “It has been forever since I last saw you.” Obviously that would be weird. But every one around you will mirror the emotions that you feel as experience them your self.

Give it a shot. Treat the next person you run into like your long lost friend and watch the magic happen. Your day will be better and every one around you will have a better day!

Let me know about your experiences.