- The happiest people are not those with the easiest lives.
- Happiness is not the absence of problems.
- It’s the ability to reframe negative perspectives and embrace the truth that all of life’s challenges have value.
- So, stop waiting for the good times to arrive. Chase them.
It really makes no difference how extravagant our hopes and plans for the future may be – sometimes, reality does not play ball and we find ourselves wandering along a path we were not anticipating. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of constantly pushing ourselves to overhaul our lifestyles – we try to start everything over again and improve our finances, health, fitness, love life and routines all in one foul swoop – but this does not always work out, nor is it always the key to finding happiness. Happiness is often found right under our noses – we’re often blinded by our constant need to chase new dreams, and improve our current circumstances, to the extent that we become completely oblivious to the fortune and the happiness we already have within us.
Has it ever occurred to you that your plans aren’t actually founded in your own personal aspirations? Do you make plans to progress in a career that is deemed ‘high-flying’ within society, but does not really make you tick or fulfill your potential?
Do you envy those people around you who seem to take a knock and bounce right back just as strong – if not stronger – as they were before?
Embrace Now: The Art of Living in the Moment
Take a moment now – what can you smell? What can you see? What can you hear? Just take a moment to be aware of these sensory stimuli that you most likely overlook and pay no mind to any other time. Doesn’t it feel good to just take a deep breath, absorb your surroundings and enjoy each precious moment that this life grants you? This is what it’s all about – living, breathing, being at peace with the moment.
Living in the moment and taking each moment as it comes does not necessarily have to be done with a positive or negative outlook – it should just be done, and whatever emotion you are feeling at that time is of the moment, and you should allow it to pass with the moment. Suppressing emotions is not conducive to being in the moment – if you try to fight an emotion or shut it out, your mind is preoccupied and before you know it, you’ve traveled down several different rabbit-holes and guess what? You’re no longer in the moment. You’re either in the past, dwelling on a previous event – or you’re in the future, panicking about something that has not yet, and may never, come to pass.
Each moment is so precious because it is symbolic – you are alive in that moment. Existing. Experiencing whatever that moment has to offer you. Don’t ruin these moments with baggage, or anxiety or regret. Just let these moments be – they have everything you will ever need. It’s all available to you – right now. In this moment.
You’re no longer in the moment. You’re either in the past, dwelling on a previous event – or you’re in the future, panicking about something that has not yet, and may never, come to pass.
As society moves on, we’ve found ourselves to be a race of worriers, constantly trying to keep up, trying to prove ourselves, attempting to get to the next moment, all in pursuit of something ‘new’ – and then we get it, but we don’t settle! We don’t allow ourselves to enjoy the moment once we get it – instead, we set our sights on the next new moment. And on it goes.
So, we must re-train our minds to focus on the good in our lives.
We must remember, we all have a talent, we all have a unique, redeeming quality that separates us from everybody else. These qualities need not follow social convention or be enough to propel you through a career you won’t even enjoy – they’re just enough to bring us peace, and happiness and add our own value to the world.
Find out what does not work for you
Do you make people laugh? Are you known for being a comforting person who is always on hand when needed? Do you dance? Do you write? Do any of these things come so naturally to you, that it feels effortless and natural? If they do, then continue to do them! Who cares if these qualities and talents are not earning you a promotion, or making you a multi-millionaire? They’re letting you shine for who you are – and in doing so, you’re adding your worth to this world.
I, personally, have achieved a lot of what I have always wanted to in life – I have an amazing, supporting partner. I have the best, most loyal and trustworthy friends and family. I travel around the world quite frequently and I am free to pursue the things that bring me happiness.
I still have a way to go,don’t get me wrong – I still have things I would like to accomplish, but I’m not frenzied in my pursuit of these things. I continue to enjoy the moment, I visualize what I want, and each moment of my life is leading me to what I want.
You just need to know what you want – really know and understand what you want. I’m not talking whims – not wanting a mansion, or a designer handbag, but really wanting something.
Visualize what you want- picture it each night before you sleep, remember it when your mood is low and you feel beaten by the world – keep that picture in your head of what you want and just work at it.
Try something new.
Find out what does not work for you.
Find out what makes you tick and don’t stop until you’re fulfilled.
