As Fun Family Memories Go, I just Knocked the Ball Into Orbit

3 great ideas to help make life sparkle — according to science

I gave my kids a wad of cash and set them a challenge. I didn’t know it but as fun family memories go — I just knocked the ball into orbit.

Happiness is fleeting

Growing up removes the awe. Life sucks the joy from your inner child. We are bombarded with bad news: wars, pandemics, corruption, doom and gloom.

We worry about money, our relationships, getting fat, and what to watch next on TV.

Like an old pair of boots, we get tired and worn, but unlike boots, we only get one life. We have to plod along with our scuffed uppers and worn-out souls.

The Good News

As long as you are healthy and comfortable in the body you inhabit, you are free to be happy. It is your choice. It is unfortunate that many of us prefer to be miserable curmudgeons.

I had an idea.

I gave my kids a wad of cash; I called it The April Fool Challenge. They each got £1,000 and I made it a competition to make as much money as they could by investing, buying and selling, or in any legal way they liked.

After a year, they will have to give back the £1,000, or whatever is left of it. They can keep any money they made, but if they lost money it would not matter, they wouldn’t be liable for any losses.

In the lead up to the challenge, my kids buzzed messages to each other on our WhatsApp group. They smiled like hungry lemon sharks.

On April 1st, they checked their accounts the moment they woke — concerned it might be a prank. The money was there.

I’d chosen the date, so it would be easy to remember. They would all know when the challenge ended. It was a smart move.

How to Make Life Sparkle

Meik Wiking is the CEO and founder of The Happiness Research Institute, Copenhagen and author of the book The Art of Making Memories. Meik has used science to study happiness.

According to his research, I nailed it with the April Fool Challenge. Here’s how:

No surprises

We are more enthusiastic about future events than those in the past. We are more emotional about what is coming than something that happened last week.

Remember when you were a kid and how you felt in the lead up to your birthday? How excited were you about your next holiday?

You are Pavlov’s dog. Looking forward to an event gets you salivating Research shows that people report more intense emotion looking forward to an event than looking back.

I gave my boys three weeks’ notice before starting the challenge. Three weeks to talk, anticipate, drool, and think over what they were going to do with the money. For 21 days they burned with excitement.

They also wondered if it was a joke. It was a double whammy when I handed them their wad of money.

We think people like surprises. Some people will tell you this:

“Do you want to be buried or cremated?”

“Surprise me.”

Anticipation is better.

Harness the power of firsts

Remember the first time you… did just about anything? These are often our easiest memories to recall.

When you experience something new, you focus your attention. You have no choice but to concentrate on what is happening around you. When we indulge ourselves in novel experiences, it makes the day extraordinary.

The challenge I set my boys was new and different. Ask any older person to recall some of their best moments and you will note their vivid memories are stories from their youth through to their thirties.

That’s the period of firsts: your first love, your first car, your first home, your first paycheck, your first hangover.

Make it new, unique, unusual.

What goes around comes around

I chose April Fools Day for no other reason than I like to prank my kids. It turns out I set up a recurring memory for us all.

Forevermore, when April 1st comes around. we will remember the challenge. It will be the topic of conversation. I suspect they might even carry on the tradition if they have kids.

Pick a day when something special happened: the moon landing, a birthday or an anniversary and do something special. When it comes around again, your memory of it pops into your head like magic.

Meil Wiking recommends you make the same day each year a day for a particular event. A picnic, for example, where people have to bring a new dish they haven’t tried before. Or to go somewhere you haven’t been.

We are eight months into the challenge

№1 son has been building and refurbishing furniture. He spent almost all his £1k on wood and tools. He’s earned £25 so far, selling one of his tools for a profit.

He would have earned more, but he kept the workbench he built from scratch and gave a table away as a gift.

He absolutely loves his projects this is him in action. He isn’t worried about winning the challenge, he is happy to learn new skills that will stand him in good stead for the future.

№2 son is a mystery. He bought a domain name for £5.94 but he tells us he has been too busy at work to do anything with it so far. Despite some cajoling from me and ribbing from his younger brother, he doggedly keeps the money in the bank earning a pittance in interest.

№3 son spent the summer buying and selling golf equipment. He bought full sets of clubs for bargain prices and split them up to sell on. He also bought and sold cameras for a profit.

His buying and selling turned his £1,000 into £2,500, which he then invested in shares and cryptocurrencies. He’s made a further £500 from his investments.

I joined in the challenge but I’m keeping my investments secret from the boys.

Final Thought

These are just three ways of making life special. There are many more tips in Meik’s book and I will write about those in the future. I am especially looking forward to April when we get together and announce the winner.

I’m planning to incorporate Meik’s other advice to make it a milestone of multisensory moments.

Put on some music, I recommend 500 miles by the Proclaimers, uncork your favourite tipple, settle back and read more from Malky. And if you haven’t joined Medium, you can support Malky and other writers or earn money yourself by joining here.