Let me begin by posing a question:

Am I the only person working this week?

This is an odd time of year. People often take off work between Christmas and New Year’s.

I’m not one of them. I love this time of year. It is perfect for reflection and planning.

And I’m not complaining that I’m working because I spent the week before Christmas in Kauai with my family and friends John and Laura Stack and their kids. Denver was cold and snowy. Hawaii wasn’t. It was a great trip.

It was at the airport my friend Laura made the comment about getting “back to reality.” And that reminded me…

Why do we choose the normal every day experience of life as “reality”? Why not the peak experiences?

I’ve written about this before. I believe our experience of reality isn’t based on our location. Our experience is based on our expectation.

I’m not going to get philosophical about the nature of reality except to remind you that reality is singular. You and I don’t have our “own” realities, despite common belief. We have our individual experiences of reality.

The way I felt in the warm, lush surroundings of Hawaii is the way I want to feel in the cold, snowy environment of Denver. I want to be fully alive, engaged and enjoying wherever I am doing whatever I’m doing.

I think we often need to reinvent our experience of reality. I’m not suggesting denial or some Pollyanna approach to life. I am suggesting that we aim higher and benchmark against the times we feel at our best and make that our “reality.”

Is working here in my office the same as being in Kauai? Of course not.

Is it as much fun? Actually, it is. I love my work and the opportunities it affords me.

Some would say, “That’s fine for you. I hate my job.” I’ve had jobs that I didn’t like so I did something really odd: I learned to like how I did the job (which is slightly different than actually liking a bad job).

If you can’t leave it, love it. Or at least love what you do, how you do it, why you do it or for whom you do it (which I talk about in my book The Encore Effect).

Life is short. Don’t dumb down your experience of reality. Reinvent it. Make it more purposeful, better  and enjoyable.

And that is the opportunity not of every New Year, but of every new day.

I wish you and your’s a New Year filled with health, happiness and prosperity.

How are you going to start the New Year? Share in the comment box below or connect with me on  Facebook and Twitter.