Just Joshin' #97 (Happiness)
1 Family Photo:
|
I traveled for work this week.
I used to travel for work all the time—not so much since Calvin was born.
When you travel for work all the time, you get status with your preferred airline. Status comes with extra conveniences. Silver: your checked bags are free. Gold: you can choose any seat on the plane and sometimes get bumped to first class. Platinum: you get even more benefits.
Then there's a tier above Platinum where they let you board the plane first and they give you a free sandwich with each flight. Your seat gets a special mark on it so flight attendants always know where you're sitting.
I was once that tier. Getting that free sandwich used to make me feel so happy—which is silly because when you travel for work all the time, someone else usually pays for all your meals.
The world changed. Our industry changed. My life changed.
It was somewhat shocking this week to open the airline app and see my travel status marked "Member” which actually means "No, you don't have any status with us, we just happen to have a database record with your name on it."
No free checked bags. No upgrades. No sandwich.
But travel gets to feel like a privilege instead of a routine. My kids get to express over FaceTime they are eager for my return instead of accustomed to my absence. I get to spend all the other weeks with family I love instead of alone in a hotel room.
Not getting that free sandwich makes me feel so happy.
1 Dad Joke:
Happiness Music
Highlights:
Happiness Research
Coolest Things I Learned In 2020 by David Perrel
 |
What Really Predicts Happiness? by Nick Maggiulli
The people who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80.
Go gentle into that good night by Roger Ebert
iamJoshKnox Highlight:
We had a company meeting in New Orleans this week. It was the first time we've been together in the same room together.
We even took a group photo.
It will certainly go down in history as one of the iconic company founding photos.
The journey with Cooptimize has been a source of great happiness.
Get in touch if you need help with data!
Also, my book is still available on Amazon here – or reply and I'd love to gift you a copy.
Fancy a Chat?
Any happiness to share?
Book some time even if you don't know what you want to talk about:
https://calendly.com/iamjoshknox
Until next week,
iamJoshKnox
Thoughts? Feedback?
😊Hit Reply and let me know😊
Josh Knox
Hi! I am Josh Knox. Read more of me here: 👇
1 Family Photo: Water Cycle The Discovery is a science museum in Reno. We celebrated Lawrence's birthday with a visit. The museum's biggest exhibit is a model of the Truckee River watershed and the water cycle, complete with "clouds" cut from stacks of pringles-shaped platforms towering 3-stories above the atrium. The clouds create an irregular jungle gym for "climbers of all ages". Lawrence loved the clouds—undeterred by their height—dragging me up and down the tiny crawlspaces they created....
1 Family Photo: Raccoon! We had a cabin visitor this week. A raccoon popped over and looked in on us. He didn't just pass by—he stopped, pulled on the sliding glass door to check if it would budge, peeped through to see what was happening inside. It felt like a zoo exhibit, but in reverse. I could hear the raccoon thinking: "LOOK AT THE ADORABLE HOOMANS! HOW SAD THEY'RE TRAPPED IN GLASS BOX. DON'T THEY WANT TO EXPLORE OUTSIDE?" The raccoon started at us. We stared at him. He wouldn't leave us...
1 Family Photo: Screens This week, we only stopped once on our seven-hour drive to Truckee. In travel-dad golf, that's shooting birdie on a par 3. [*insert joke about drivers*] The boys passed some of the time looking at their books, drawing on little pads, singing songs, and napping. Mostly though, they just gazed out their windows, occasionally asking questions about things we passed. I don't know if it makes any difference to life-outcomes (and I don't judge anyone else's parenting...