I have a super power and it’s time I share it with all of you. I have the ability to find joy in things that other people seem to dread. I delight in the simplest of pleasures that others seem to pass right on by. While happiness comes easily for most of us during special occasions, the key to a baseline of contentment in life is to find joy in the mundane. Folding laundry. Going grocery shopping. Dusting shelves. Cleaning countertops. How does someone learn to enjoy these tasks rather than do them reluctantly and what can be gained by this mindset shift?

What it really comes down to a steady feeling of gratitude. When I am strolling down the aisles of the grocery store, I could easily focus on the plethora of annoyances that surround me. The place is crowded and I have to park further away than I want to. The shopping carts are wet from the rain. I forgot my reusable bags. They are out of ginger and I have to buy the subpar squeeze bottle that won’t taste as fresh. The other customers are oblivious to the fact that there are other people in the aisle and don’t leave sufficient room for me and my cart to scoot by (this one actually does bug me big time). The checkout line is slow moving and the person in front of me cannot be bothered to bag their own groceries. Grocery shopping can easily cause someone to experience numerous irritations and leave them feeling spent and frustrated. This is when gratitude swoops in and saves the day like Clark Kent coming to save us from the train charging toward us at full speed. Right before we’re smashed to oblivion, our burly hero whisks us away in his muscular arms and we are cradled to safely (wow guys, should I be writing romance novels or what?).

Where was I again? Oh yeah, gratitude. Instead of being annoyed that we have to park further away, we can be appreciative that we are able bodied enough to do the extra walking. Hell, we could even pass up a closer spot knowing that someone in a bigger rush or with smaller children will rejoice when they see that glorious vacant spot. As we walk down aisle after aisle, we can delight in the fact that we have so much nicely packaged and displayed food to chose from. We didn’t have to kill and skin a rabbit in the wild or forge for berries while also trying to not become a meal ourselves. No, all we had to do was drive a couple of miles in our heated cars, choose whatever we want, and drive home to cook it. Seriously, do you even realize that supermarkets have only been around for a little over a century? In the 1900s, families could buy goods at the market but they also lived off their land and often slaughtered their own animals if they wanted to enjoy some chicken enchiladas. How quickly our society went from enjoying the miracle that is a grocery store to complaining that yet again we have to restock our pantries and deal with all the trouble of bagging our own groceries (seriously people, it isn’t that hard). Once you take a step back and realize how fortunate we are to have what we have, tasks like grocery shopping become less of an annoyance and more of something we are lucky enough to experience. You don’t have to grow and harvest your own corn, you can buy a package of four beautiful ears and they are even pre-husked! You don’t even have to wait for summer to buy a container of strawberries (which may or may not be a good thing)! My childhood self would be so jealous of how I walk down the candy aisle, grabbing whatever sweet treat I’m craving at the moment. I still feel giddy about the fact that I get to choose every item that enters my cart. Sometimes being adult is pure magic.

Another task that gets a bad rap is doing the laundry. I won’t educate you on when the first laundry machine was invented, but I will elaborate on my own experiences which have helped me enjoy this chore that is famously detested. I take pride in the fact that I typically wash, fold and put away my laundry all in one day and the satisfaction that comes at the end of laundry day is what inspires me to do the same thing again the following week. There is something about those orderly little piles of neatly folded clothes that make my heart sing. I love seeing my family’s clothes standing proudly in their drawers, making it easy for my kids to find their favorite pair of pants in the morning. Donating whatever clothes we don’t use enriches the laundry experience in a powerful way- when you love what you own, you try hard to take care of those things. I am thankful for my cozy leggings, my jeans that fit just right, my comfy sweaters and t-shirts that are worn out from years of love. I am forever grateful to the friends and family that have gifted my kids with their gently used items so I don’t have to buy new ones, only for them to outgrow them in a single season. Appreciating our clothes from expensive tops to well loved socks inspires us to treat them with tender love and care.

I also am lucky enough to have the gift of perspective. My past laundry struggles highlight the fact that owning a washer and dryer is straight up luxurious. When I left home for the first time and got an apartment in the Michigan suburbs with my friends and boyfriend, we didn’t have access to laundry and had to tote our giant bags of laundry to the local laundromat. With a book and a bag of quarters, I would head over to the laundromat where I would spend most of the day waiting to hear the glorious beeping sound that would signal that it was time to head home and begin folding. A handful of apartments later, we moved into a top floor apartment in a three story building in Chicago to begin our family. While we were happy to be upgrading from our laundromat days, we still had plenty of laundry struggles. I would have to strategically find the right moment when I could safely leave my baby (or wear her in a Moby wrap) to venture outside where I would carry as much laundry as physically possible down three flights of stairs to the dark dingy basement where I would pray to the lord above that my neighbors weren’t also attempting to do their laundry. Sometimes I would make this journey three times before finding a gloriously empty washer and dryer. The worst would be when my neighbor neglected to move his clothes along and I would have to choose between moving it for him or waiting all day until he got around to it. No wonder I find it easy to see the joy in laundry day now that I have the convenience of cleaning my clothes in the comfort of my own home. Many of us have this luxury but few remember to view it as such and instead grumble at the fact that once again, the hampers are overflowing and we are the ones that have to deal with it. If you still struggle to finish the job, try listening to a podcast or watching a show while you fold.

There are so many opportunities to practice this new super power technique. Instead of putting off the dirty dishes after dinner, get into a routine where you do them immediately after you finish your meal. If you have a dishwasher, rejoice in the fact that you don’t have to hand wash each and every fork and plate. When you wake up, a clean kitchen will greet you and that should be enough to make you want to repeat this evening routine. Are you lucky enough to have a roof over your head? Take pride in the place you call home by taking care of it. Don’t let the clutter take over your living room, making it impossible to sit and unwind after a long day. Put things back where they belong after you use them. As you walk through your home, pick up dirty dishes and random toys and put them where they go. If you find that you are constantly putting back toys, maybe it’s time to have a decluttering session with your kids. Oh, and make the damn bed while you’re at it!

So what can be gained from this change of perspective? By turning these negative experiences into positive ones, you will completely change the feel of your day. Instead of rushing through your chores, you will learn to embrace them and feel thankful for all you have. You will create a baseline of contentment in your life by recognizing all the convinces that are bestowed upon you by living in the 21st century. You will lower your stress levels and find yourself in a better mood. You will find joy in a simple day rather than relying on special occasions like going out to eat, holidays or going to a friend’s birthday party to make you feel happy. Give this change of perspective a try and you too can adopt this secret super power and enjoy life that much more.