Every so often life gets a bit hectic and crazy. When this happens, one thing I like to do is to slow down and think about my perfect day. This is not a perfect day in the sense that I can do whatever or be wherever I want. It’s nice to picture myself on a beach somewhere drinking coronas or skiing down the slopes of Whistler, but what is of more benefit to me is to visualize (and even better write out) the perfect day that I can experience right here, right now (as Fatboy Slim would say).

This exercise is based on a simple, but very powerful belief: it is possible for each of us can live happy, consciousness, and meaningful lives each and every day. Everything in our life may not be “perfect” – perhaps we are lonely, want more money, desperately need a holiday, dream of a better body or are bored with our work – but I believe with a shift in our mindset we can start enjoying the present, while still working towards the future we desire.

“Happiness is not real unless it is shared.” – Chris McCandless

Last Saturday I stood alone atop the mountain at Big White Ski Resort enjoying the sun, surveying the spectacular scenery, and contemplating the ski run that lay before me. It was a wonderful moment in a wonderful day. It was that type of moment when everything seems just right. And yet, despite this feeling of peace, there was something missing from the experience….

Just two nights earlier I had watched the film Into the Wild. For those who have not seen the movie (or read the book), it is based on the true story of a young man called Chris McCandless who cuts off all ties to his upper middle class family and follows his instinct to go “anywhere but here.” He lives out of a backpack and ekes out a marginal existence drifting across the United States. Eventually he heads north and enters the Alaskan Wilderness. He never returns.

Everyone enjoys partaking in activities that make them feel good. One of the problems we face, though, is that we have become a society of excesses. Especially for those fighting to maintain some semblance of work life balance, it can be easy to use certain activities as a form of escapism. Things that are normally used for social interaction or temporary mood enhancers become central to achieving any sort of happiness, and suddenly the mind or the body – sometimes both – become addicted. Once that happens, it is impossible to find fulfillment or contentment without indulging to unhealthy extremes.

There are many types of addictions, and each is used to fulfill a different need, to satisfy various emotions, or used to dull painful memories or experiences. Using people or substances as crutches is unhealthy. It can result in the loss of ability to cope with reality altogether, and can lead to serious depressions when the effects of our abusive behavior finally subside.