We’re used to seeing beauty in nature, but where is the beauty and magic in our technology? How amazing is it that we can pick up the phone and talk, real time, to someone two thousand miles away? Or that we flip a switch, and suddenly there’s light? We take these “little” things for granted, yet less than 100 years ago, they didn’t exist. What magical bits of technology are you overlooking? This week, discover and appreciate 5 things each day that have become common in the last 100 years.

We live in a world of incredible beauty and magic, yet most of the time we’re so busy running from one thing to another that we never stop to see it. We miss out on a lot that way. So this week, notice ten magical, beautiful things every day, and write them down.

When is the last time you took time just to daydream? In our busy, hectic world, it’s becoming a dying art. Without our dreams, how do we know where we want to go, or what we want to become? Dreams give the rest of our life color and direction and context. I challenge you, this week, to set aside ten minutes every day to just sit and day dream.

How many times a day does your critical voice, your negative side talk to you? What messages does it give you? How often does it tell you, “You should,” “You must,” “You can’t,” or some other variation on that theme? That critical, self-sabotaging voice is what Richard Carson refers to as “The Gremlin.” (Check out his book, Taming Your Gremlin, available at Amazon through A Good Read on the ManageYourMuse site.)

It’s not uncommon to hear that voice upwards of 30 times a day, but we’re so used to it that we’re not even aware it’s there. This week, start listening for that voice, instead of listening to it. When you hear it, just tell it to go away and leave you alone. You’ll probably have to do that over and over again. Gremlins are sneaky and persistent.