Founder Story: Notice

We’ve all been hearing our whole lives that we should take time to appreciate the small things around us. Some version or another of “Stop and smell the roses!” has been repeated so many times that it’s devolved into a cultural cliché. I think it’s understandable that most people have tuned that message out. 

I was one of those people, so I admit that I was a little surprised to discover how delightful this simple little mantra is. At first it started as me looking at the word, “Take Notice” on my wristband and quickly scanning around wherever I was for something to notice. As it happened, I never found myself with a shortage of joys to take note of. A beloved family member or friend, a beautiful nature scene, my super comfortable desk chair, a delicious meal.

As I worked through the more obvious things, I started to get a little more abstract in my thinking. The pleasure of taking a deep breath of fresh air, the satisfaction of learning something from a science podcast, the look of excitement on my kids’ faces when they beat me at a card game.

Eventually this all coalesced into something that was bigger than the sum of the individual little things. I began to Notice that positive interactions were displacing negative ones. Instead of counter-productive conversations about un-joyful topics, such as politics or gossip, I found I was sharing the joyous things I had discovered. Rather than feeling trapped or sad about the negative news of the day and wanting to vent about it, I was feeling hopeful and had a desire to spread that feeling to others.

Overall, I’m in a better current state having forced myself to pay attention a little more, and my long-term mental outlook is much healthier, too. I recommend you give it a real chance, and I hope that you enjoy the experience!

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