Build the peak

 Book Title: The Power of Moments

Book chapter: Build peaks

Author: Chip Heath& Dan Heath   Reviewed by: Jason Cheng Qi Quan

         Peak is the moment that creates the greatest memory in your life. It is powerful because the moment always retains in your memory. It is a moment that you are energetic and powerful. this peak  is defined by yourself but not others. It redefines your life purpose and motivates you to continue to live. Peak helps you to redefine life purpose and motivate you to continue in your journey. How to create a peak? It is very simple. There are three ways, boost sensory appeal, raise the stake and break the routine.

        All of us have a sense of feelings. For example, if a group of people goes to the beach, none of them have the same feelings. Each of them has their feelings there. Some people enjoy the sea breeze, some of them like the beautiful sunset. Everyone appreciates different things. Therefore, a way of boost your feelings is to be conscious at every moment. Nowadays, we keep bombarded with a lot of information from the internet. Our minds keep wondering about the virtual world and lost focus in the real world. We spend most of the time on the electronic device and didn't feel the actual world with heart. Consciousness helps you to identify the action that help you to achieve greater feelings. After you know it, you can allocate a time slot to achieve it. The feelings must be positive, relax and not harmful to yourself and others. You can design a special day or special hour for yourself. For example, meditate in the early morning because you like the feeling of peace or quiet. 

        Raise the stake means creating productive pressure. Work hard without a clear purpose or elevation is a waste of energy. You can't see the value of it because of lack of purpose. During school time, we have the exam. We have to study hard and pass the exam right?  We will study hard automatically because we know the exam is around the corner. as working adults, we work hard so that we can deliver our job better. However, there are no more exams or deadlines in normal life. Sometimes we know our interest or purpose well. However, our intention to achieve it will lessen because there is no one or special event to motivate us. It is impossible to achieve success without a specific event or evaluation session. Therefore, you can take a small baby step to find a way to connect your interest to the community. For example, you like dancing. You can join a dance competition and unleash your skill!  Try to join a dance class to get connections who have the same passion as you. You will practice hard to win in the competition.  Enjoy every session of practice and focus on it. Instead of focusing on the champion, try to focus on how to create a meaningful dance step that can convey the meaning of the song and bring joy to society. One day you will create your successful moment in life.

        The same concept is applied to our life. A good moment is a moment that you craving for and enjoy the most.  It requires energy to made it happen. Firstly, you must define your moment and think about how much time and cost are needed to achieve it. For example, you plan to travel to Tibet, China to enjoy the unique landscape. At first, you plan to do it. Next when you are concerned about the difficulties of align calendars, kids' school schedules and financial issues. Then you delay your traveling plan. It sounds familiar, right? At first, we wish to do it but we encounter a lot of obstacles. It is not easy to create your peak. You need to surmount the difficulties to made it happen. Once you build the peak that is meaningful to you, you add more to your defining moment in your life!

        Next is to break the routine. Routine is a normal activity in our life. Most of us wake up early in the morning, go to work, rest and go to work again. It is impossible to get well in all aspects of life.  We need to focus our energy on the things that are matter to us the most. Therefore, we can take action to make your life special. It just requires a little effort to add spice to your normal life. You can just plan a short escape journey, join a volunteer event or go adventure in the jungle. This activity may sound normal to others but it may sound special to you ! It is like traveling. We feel excited when we travel to a new location but the place is normal to local people! You just need to spend little effort to arrange your time to made it happen. This moment can make your life even better and prolong your energy to continue to work hard in life.  

        Every important moment has a unique reason in your heart. Only you can define which moment is made your life more beautiful.  What are you waiting for? Start to define your moments today !