GETTING TO HAPPINESS: THE JOURNEY ALWAYS STARTS HERE AND NOW
It s no secret that the happiest people are people who are kind to themselves. If you re someone who has a tendency to be hard on yourself, you ve undoubtedly met one of these people and wondered, Why can t I be like that? You can. With some knowledge and a little practice, you can also be easier going. You ll be happier and, as strange as it sounds, you ll even more productive by using the tips I ve outlined below.
IT’S ALL ABOUT CHOICES
It seems the further along we get in life, the less we remember how we got there. Although it can seem like we fell into the life we are living, the truth is we got there by making choices. As difficult as that might seem when we look at some of our circumstances in life, it s true. And the sooner we realize it the better.
The good news is that making choices is not something we do once and then our fate is sealed, it s an ongoing process. We can alter who we are and our future by the choices we make. Many times it can look like a choice is nothing more than picking between the least objectionable of the options available. But if we can take a little time to get present in our lives and start to notice the things that please us, the choices available to us will shift.
WHO ARE YOU?
It s an interesting notion that it s usually much easier to see the strengths and weaknesses of others than it is to see our own. Do you know your most positive and negative aspects? Most of us don t have any idea. It can be useful to do a little self-evaluation. Make a list of what you see as your most and least desirable attributes. Be as honest as you can and write it all down. Be for yourself like you would be for a good friend. Evaluate the negatives on the list and see what you can do to make them positives. With your strong suits, start noticing how they occur in your everyday life.
PRACTICE ACKNOWLEDGING YOURSELF
You are who you say you are. It can be all too easy to only pay attention to what you don t like in your life and berate yourself for it . It s time to begin practicing being good to yourself. Spend a few minutes each day writing down the good things that you accomplish. Even if they re small, they re meaningful. This is evidence of your strengths at work
BE FORGIVING
If you ve made mistakes (and who hasn t), let yourself off the hook. It s in the past and you can t change the past. By being stuck on what we didn t accomplish or did wrong, we are not present in our lives. The only time life can ever improve is right now. By completing the past, we get present in our lives.
LOOK FOR THINGS TO APPRECIATE IN YOUR LIFE
Just like the list of accomplishments to acknowledge yourself for, make one to acknowledge other people and things. There is so much good that we receive in our lives that we don t notice because we re too busy noticing the things we don t like. Think for a moment about those people you would not trade places with for all the money in the world. What are the things in your life that they don t have that you would hate to lose? If you can give thanks for these things in your life, not only will you feel better, but you will experience more of them. What we give our attention to expands and grows.
EMBRACE WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW
It s sometimes difficult for people to accept where they are in life. But resisting where you are is crazy. If you wanted to get to New York and you were in California, you would just plan your route, start heading in the right direction and you would eventually get there. It s the same with whatever circumstance you find yourself in in life. Accept where you are, decide where you want to be and head in that direction. You ll eventually get there.
Marc Davis is an entrepreneur and stay at home dad. Check out his latest website on picking the Best Vacuum Cleaners. His latest articles are on Dirt Devil Vacuum Cleaners and choosing from among the many Canister Vacuum Cleaners
Be the first to comment on "The Road To Happiness"