A Year of Capturing 1 Second Everyday

Living for the weekend:

In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it’s easy to let small moments of joy slip past unnoticed. 

I’ve spent a lot of time reading up on all the best techniques and strategies that I could employ to help me feel more energised and less likely to watch the clock all day waiting for it to click over to 5 pm. I read up on how successful people like Elon Musk, Bill Gates and even The Rock manage their time to avoid feeling burnout. 

The first breakthrough moment for me that reshaped my perspective didn’t come from reading about how celebrities manage their time, it came from listening closely to my inner monologue and paying attention to the words I was saying to myself in those times when I felt like I barely got through the day with enough energy. 

I could hear my inner monologue saying “I just need to get through this hour” “I just need to get to Saturday” “I just need to get through these meetings” and it dawned on me that I was putting my mind into ‘survival mode’.

I was sending messages to my body saying I needed to just get through this. My body received the message that I was fighting to get through and flooded me with the adrenalin I needed to survive the day. My body got into a routine of flooding me with adrenalin to get through the work week. When Saturday rolled around my body was fatigued and crashed from all that adrenalin and I would sit and ‘rot’ all weekend curled up on my couch binging TV thinking I needed to ‘rest’ to recoup all the energy I lost throughout the week so I could do it all again. This was when I realised I needed to stop living for the weekend.

We often find ourselves immersed in the routine, missing out on the joy and significance of each passing day and beautiful moments appear and disappear as quickly as blinking. I needed to reshape my thinking to stop living for the weekend. I have a few strategies for this but the one I want to share today is filming 1 second every day. This seemingly small act has become a gratitude journal, a memory capsule, and a catalyst for positive change in my life.

1 Second Everyday:

About 18 months ago (at the time of writing this) I started filming 1 second out of every single day. The goal was to capture something I loved about that day. At the end of each month, I have a replay of the best moments of every single day. It was such a simple thing but what I ended up making was a form of gratitude journal, a time capsule, a digital memory book and above that I found the motivation to look for joy in each day or create joy each day

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Selecting a moment to capture each day forces me to reflect on the positive aspects of my life. Some of the videos I captured last year were everything from the warm cup of coffee my husband brought me on April 7th to flying to Japan to cross seeing Mt Fuji off the bucket list on December 6th. 

Transforming Perspectives and Breaking Ruts:

Amid the daily grind, it's easy to fall into a rut and lose sight of the potential for growth, discovery and joy. Filming 1 second every day acted as a catalyst for change in my life. Instead of succumbing to monotony, I found myself inspired to do more with my time.

In every seemingly ordinary day, it's easy to fall into the cycle of just waiting for the weekend and losing sight of the moments you may have otherwise let slip past you. This simple idea has pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to say yes to new opportunities and embrace a mindset of exploration. I started to learn new things, explore new places, and appreciate the richness of life's experiences everyday, not just on “days off”. It became a powerful tool for seeking out joy, self-discovery and personal development.

Journeying Through Time:

As the months passed, the compilation of 1-second snippets transformed into a living, breathing time capsule. Watching the yearly video at the end of the year was a heartwarming experience, offering a playback of 365 days of life and I remember the best part of every day. I remember the friends I saw, the sunsets that had me in awe and the memories I chose to make when I would otherwise have waited for them to find me instead. 

The Impact on Mental Health:

The benefits of this project on my mental health are immeasurable. The intentional focus on positive moments has shifted my mindset towards gratitude, fostering a sense of contentment and well-being. It serves as a reminder that even in difficult times, there is always something to be thankful for or opportunities to make every day memorable. The 1 second every day may not capture everything but it does capture my favourite moment in each day.

The act of filming and reflecting on daily moments has become a therapeutic practice, helping me manage stress and maintain a positive outlook.

Conclusion:

In the pursuit of a more fulfilling life, sometimes the answer lies in the simplicity of reflecting on a single second each day that otherwise would have been lost. This project has not only become a visual diary but a transformative tool for gratitude, perspective shift, and personal growth. As I look back on the year that was, I am reminded that life is a collection of small, beautiful moments – each deserving of recognition and celebration and I no longer wait for joy, I create it.