I admit that I often (okay, VERY FREQUENTLY) mention that one of the biggest advantages of SELF-REFLECTION (and becoming self-aware) is that it minimizes the number of times you are surprised. I explain in my classes at Kellogg that anyone can determine if someone is really SELF-REFLECTIVE by talking to them for 15 minutes and seeing how often they admit to being surprised. As a matter of fact, the second chapter in my new book, Your 168: Finding Purpose and Satisfaction In a Values-Based Life is entitled, “WHY ARE YOU SURPRISED?”

I consider myself to be a very SELF-REFLECTIVE person. This is in large part a result of my participating in annual three-day silent retreats and daily self-reflections each evening. So the obvious question is: “Why am I surprised that Julie and I are celebrating our ’40th’ wedding anniversary?”

What I don’t get — what ‘surprises’ me — is “how can a 39-year-old guy be married for 40 years?” It WAS only a blink-of-an-eye ago that Julie and I got married…right? I was intrigued enough by this puzzle that I decided to try to study Einstein’s work on relativity……remember that class in physics when the teacher explained that if two trains were traveling toward one another at different speeds that something happened to the space and time continuum…? (as you may be able to tell, physics was not my best subject 😉 )

Regardless of the proper physics equations, I am sticking with my story of being 39 years old. If any of you have any ideas on how to better explain this conundrum, please let me know.

And in the future, maybe I will keep this question to myself rather than admitting to being surprised 😉 .

Here’s a picture from a few weeks ago when Julie and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary:

And here’s a picture from August 9, 1980!!!