Once upon a time, “friends of mine” went to marriage counseling and when they went for the first time, they walked into this room that looked like a library in a swanky home, with dark wood paneling, brown leather club chairs, an impressive dark oak desk, and thick brown tweed curtains. The therapist asked them both to look around and find something yellow. Yellow. In this big room FULL of brown. One pointed out a yellow flower in a painting on the wall. The other noticed a yellow tissue box on her desk. The therapist said “If I had asked you to find something brown in the room, that would have been easy. Right now, it’s easy to focus on the brown in your marriage because it feels like it’s everywhere but there is yellow there, too. You just have to look for it”. And this is what I call “Searching for the Sunshine.” Even on the cloudiest, rainiest days, the sun is always there, you just can’t see it.

Now I think we can all agree that when we look around these days, it is pretty easy to be inundated with brown. In fact, it’s hard to avoid it. But I assure you there is plenty of yellow to excavate. You just have to look for it. Truly, much of it is hidden in plain sight.

The truth is, we perpetuate more of whatever we focus on and give our energy. As an example, have you ever noticed that the more email that you read and respond to, the more you receive? Or if you are doomscrolling, you will just find more and more evidence to support that the World is about to end?

So where are you putting your attention and intention? Are you focusing on the brown or are you Searching for the Sunshine?

This can become a fun challenge for you, like an Easter Egg Hunt, where you Search for the Sunshine in everyday life. Sometimes I will go to the Grocery Store, which I think we can agree is a pretty mundane and uneventful experience most of the time, and I decide to search for those sunshine easter eggs. I will notice things I would normally just overlook: The clerk that is helping the feeble old man find what he needs. The person letting someone go in front of them in line because they only have a few items. The man playing the guitar and singing a beautiful rendition of “Let It Be” outside the store. All of these are sunshine moments you can collect.

Better yet, I bring the sunshine. I help the feeble old man. I let the person in front of me in line. I stand in front of the store and sing a song (no not really, but don’t put it past me). I ask the clerk about their day and bring a smile to their lips. Because I have discovered that when we bring the sunshine, it casts this amazing bright light over our somewhat ordinary and routine lives. It is these moments where we bring the extraordinary to the ordinary. Appreciating these moments will fill your energetic gas tank and you will be more energized to handle whatever comes your way in this World that is full of more curve-balls than normal. Curve-balls that can easily steal your energy and your joy if you aren’t resourced.

Whenever you have some moments to yourself – in the shower, at the gym, as you lay in bed at the end of the day, Search for the Sunshine. What do you appreciate about your work, your team, family, your life? Imagine if you spent at least 15 minutes every day Searching for the Sunshine. This small amount of time will yield you an unbelievable return. You will start to notice that your energetic gas tank feels more full. Focusing on the brown drains the tank, Searching for the Sunshine fills it. You will also start to see the forecast as partly sunny instead of partly cloudy. You will notice more of the sunshine that has always been there and your world will feel brighter and you will be more buoyant and resilient.

And this won’t just impact you. It will impact everyone around you. This energy is incredibly attractive and infectious. Imagine how that will impact your prospects, your clients, your team, your kids.

Start Searching for the Sunshine and collect those Sunshine Easter Eggs to remind you that the vast majority of people are good – extraordinary in their own special way, that there is much to be grateful for, and that life is indeed precious and beautiful.

Spread the word and share the Sunshine and forward this to a friend or two or twenty. And hit reply and tell me about your favorite ways to collect the Sunshine in your life.