Many years ago while walking to dinner in Washington DC after a long day of work together, I was asked a question by a Senior Executive.  “What do you do to pamper yourself?”  Knowing the executive, I suppose I should have come up with some lavish vice, habit, or hobby to impress him in that moment, but I didn’t.  Instead, I was authentically candid and shared, “Spend time with my family.”

For me, satisfaction and happiness have very little to do with what I might do to “pamper” myself.  These feelings appear within varied relationships with others and the affect of those relationships with what is together realized, accomplished, endured, and enjoyed as a result.

I recently read the following quote from Leo Tolstoy that prompted this reflection.  I hope you also pause for a few minutes after reading this to reflect upon and apply what it is that brings you satisfaction and happiness.  I’ll continue prioritizing my time with family and friends in the relationships and causes that we share together.

“Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.”  — Leo Tolstoy —

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