What is August’s Excitement?
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From summer holidays to starting back-to-school, this month is filled with so much excitement!
Keep reading to learn more about August’s excitement and some ways to honor excitement this summer month!
Definitions of Joy:
Each month this year, we have been focusing on a different “definition” of joy.
These terms that make up joy come from a couple studies that were cited in The Book of Joy where the book was trying to define what joy means.
Some of the terms that make up joy—according to these cited studies— are:
-Spiritual Radiance
-Bliss
-Wonder
-Humor
-and Excitement
For the month of August, the focus is going to be on the joy term of… excitement!
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Get the Book:
The Book of Joy
by His Holiness the dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams
What's Excitement?:
Of all the terms covered so far in this series, I feel excitement is probably the one used the most.
We— if I had to guess—use the world nearly daily in our interactions!
While it would be so easy to skip right over the definition of this word, I still feel that it’s important to get clear on what this word formally means.
According to Webster’s Dictonary, one way to define “to excite” is in terms of energy…
“to raise (an atomic nucleus, an atom, a molecule, etc.) to a higher energy level”
-Webster's Dictionary
While this is referring more towards scientific terms, I feel it is also a wonderful way to define the everyday joy word of excitement!
When we feel excited about something, we know it because our energy rises—we suddenly can’t wait, we feel so alive!
Historically, the word gets its orgins from the Latin word “excitare” which translates into “rouse, call out, summon forth, produce [.]” (Etymonline.com).
For so many of us, we can get a little stuck in the everyday ordinariness of life. Then, when something excites us— we tend to rouse and really step into the magic and joy of life (that is truly there at all times—we just need to remember!).
Why Focus on Excitement in August:
August, as it presents itself, is such a month of exciting times! It’s almost natural to feel a bit of excitement going into this month!
Oftentimes, this month includes… summer vacations, weddings, back-to-school, really awesome produce (peach season is such a great time!) and just amazing summertime moments.
Given all this… well, excitement… it’s a wonderful time to take a chance to reflect on all the exciting things going on as well as where perhaps you would like to add a little more excitement to your life. This doesn’t have to be a homework assignment though (thinking of back-to-school!), just something to ponder on as we enter this last full month of summertime.
Ways to Add Some Excitement to Your Life:
If you are looking to add a little more excitement to your life, check out some of these ideas!
1.) Plan some long-term goals: One way to get more excited is to make some dreams for the future. While most already have some big dreams they want for their futures in regards to family and career, make some time to create some just-for-fun goals for your future to get excited about and start working on.
For me, I decided I want to travel to all 50 states in the U.S. and their Capitol buildings. It’s honestly added a lot of excitement to my life as I think about how I can get to that state and when I cross off a state capitol!
Some other fun long-term goals may be: run a 5K, visit every pro-football stadium, hike Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, swim in every single ocean, go to every single continent, golf in every single country of Europe, etc.
While it’s great to have life-goals… it’s also fun and exciting to have some goals that are just for fun! I like to personally keep a list of my long-term goals on my phone because it’s fun to look at it and get excited about what’s happened already and what’s to come!
Side note: For those more life goals (and the fun long-term goals), I really suggest visualization to help you maintain getting excited about them. One way to do this is through the use of Mind Movies!
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2.) Plan some short-term goals/ Set some intentions: On the other side of the coin, it’s also exciting to take time to plan some short goals and/or set some intentions as we head into this second part of the year.
August is a full month, without a doubt, for many people. As we enter into this more busy month, take some to consider what intentions you have for this “new-year” (I always think of the new year as it relates to school calendars— still have a student within me!). What would you like to see happen this second part of the year? How would your highest and best self show up for the rest of the year? What would you like to intend for these next months?
Take some time to reflect and set your intentions. Intention setting can be really fun and exciting— it’s actually listed as my first joyful thing for the month of January post!
Some short-term goals/ intentions you may have are: to make sure I reconnect with nature once a day this month, to head to the Farmer’s Market every Saturday until they close in October for the season, to meditate twice a day for a week, to limit my TV watching until Thanksgiving, to take time to enjoy a cup of tea in the evenings before bed, etc. You may find yourself getting excited in not only planning these short-term goals/ intentions, but when you have these more immediate result goals, you may find yourself getting excited to plan more!
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3.) Learn something new/ take up a hobby: This one may be part of your goals above! I’ve also talked about this before—but given how we as humans tend to gravitate towards doing the same things over and over again it’s worth repeating again… consider taking some time to take a new hobby and/or learn something new! What’s something that you have been wanting to try? For me, I decided to take up stand-up paddleboarding or SUP— it’s been so much fun, and I very much look forward to doing SUP this August! As you begin learning something new, you will most likely find yourself getting excited at the thought of the next time you get to do it!
4.) Meet up with people at “odd” times: What I mean by odd times is not the weekends— namely Friday nights or Saturdays. When I was in Spain, something that really struck me (and became part of the joy lessons I learned for Spain!) was how Spain really come alive at around 9pm— on weekdays!
While there, we would often go to dinner around 8-8:30pm, and most times we were some of the only ones there! The Spanish put big emphasis on getting together on “work nights” to catch-up with one another. This may sound a little amazing to many people in the U.S. for our culture often tends to self-isolate ourselves after 5pm Monday through Thursday. However, what if you planned to hang out with people during the off-hours of the work week? Meet up with friends on a Tuesday night for a dinner picnic, or perhaps drink some tea and catch up with a loved on on Monday night. Grab a hike with good friend on a Sunday evening. There’s no rule that you can’t make your social life happen outside of Fridays and Saturdays. In doing so, you may just find yourself getting excited for Tuesdays!
5.) Take Yourself Out on a Date: There is this idea that has been circulating the internet about self-care dates. While it may sound a bit cheesy to some, the idea of really doing something that YOU want to do is a powerful one. What’s something special you could do for an hour, a half-day or even a full-day? Maybe it looks like going for a walk, then heading to a farmer’s market and getting some flowers? Perhaps it’s taking that really long hike you always wanted to take? Or it’s perusing a bookstore and then reading in the park for a bit? I always find when I take the time to fully invest in doing something fun for myself, it truly becomes something I look forward to and feel excitement for.
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