TWO MINUTES OF LIGHT – how will you use yours?

I’ve just ‘phoned an old family friend who’s been ill. She was thrilled to hear from me. The call lasted no more than a couple of minutes.

Yesterday, I posted a positive review on Tripadvisor for a hotel I stayed in over the holidays. It took around 90 seconds.

Since 21 December last year, I’ve been rather obsessed with the concept of two minutes because that’s how much extra daylight we get each day. In these troubled times, when there’s so much pain and negativity in the world, this has been making me happy.

But then I thought – what to do with those two minutes of light? How to use them for the good of others and for our own benefit. Of course, for me, the answer was communication (it being the most important of all life skills).

So, a ‘TwoMinutesOfLight’ might be spent tweeting/emailing/Zooming/calling/WhatsApping a colleague, teacher, team member, friend, relative, boss (light can shine upwards too). At a time when many people are in the doldrums, how welcome is that simple word of praise for a job well done, a project completed on time, a meeting well managed. Or maybe it’s a Linkedin recommendation, an introduction, a testimonial. Perhaps it’s asking the customer service lady on the end of the ‘phone how her day has been? Or maybe it’s knocking on a lonely neighbour’s door to say Happy New Year.

You might even use two minutes for yourself, to take control of your own happiness. Somehow, I’ve only recently come across the incredible Mo Gawdat, ex Chief Business Officer at Google X. His life’s mission, prompted by a personal tragedy, is to show people that happiness is an equation, that we can choose to be happy, and that we can achieve it through simple, tangible behaviours. I urge you to watch this. It’s so inspiring and practical ….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3mdCGTxI6Q&mc_cid=533f443c70&mc_eid=dcd5370ea2

Happy New Year.