I know I take a lot of things for granted in my life and I’m trying to do a better job of being grateful for everything and everyone in my life. When we live in a world where we are bombarded with messages of constant consumerism and needing the next best thing, we can easily get sidetracked. Here are 6 ways to help you be content with what you have right now.
Be Thankful
Do you have a warm place to live? Do you have food to eat? Are you surrounded by friends and family who care about you? If so, you have a lot to be thankful for! Gratitude can go a long way. Shift your focus to what you have in your life already and you’ll immediately be reminded that there is so much to already be thankful for. Consider developing a daily gratitude practice which will help you focus on the positive things instead of what you think is lacking in your life. Once you develop more of an attitude of gratitude you’ll notice yourself feeling happier.
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
It’s so easy to get caught up in the comparison game but it’s a game where no one wins. Comparison only leads to feelings of inadequacy, insecurity and unhappiness. Instead of wanting to be more like others, let’s embrace our uniqueness and celebrate each other. Jealousy and envy are sneaky friends of comparison. Whenever I start to feel a bit of jealousy creeping into my head, I now try to flip it around to remind myself it’s better to be happy for that person instead of jealous of them. This is an ongoing process and sometimes easier said than done. I’ve learned that if I am having envious feelings of others it’s often because I am feeling stagnant in my own life. Playing the comparison game is never a good idea and it doesn’t make you feel good in any way. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of Joy”. Let’s remember that we are enough just as we are and everyone else is also trying to do the best they can with where they’re at.
Stop Complaining
If you’re not happy with something, then do something about it. Otherwise, complaining is going to get you nowhere except feeling miserable and sorry for yourself. Listening to someone complain about anything can be such a downer. I’m guilty of complaining about things in my life I’ve been too lazy to change. My husband can confirm that there have been times where I’ve sounded like a broken record from complaining about same thing over and over again. Our words can be very powerful. They form the beliefs we have in our own abilities and actions. When you start to pay more attention to the kinds of words you use regularly about who you are, you can begin to change the story you tell yourself. I’d challenge you to try to go an entire day without complaining and see what happens.
Be Present
Put your phone down. Turn off the alerts for any of your emails or texts and be present with the people you are with. We are so distracted these days and addicted to our phones that we forget how to just be still and focus entirely on the present moment. My husband and I have been trying to change our habits with how often we are on our phones during family time. We have been guilty of checking the score of a game, reading an email, text or interesting blog post during dinner time. We have started to leave our phones across the room when we eat and its helped to keep our focus on the most important people in our lives – our family. When we spend more time being distracted by devices we miss the good stuff that’s happening right in front of us. The present moment is all we have right now, let’s do our best to make the most of it.
Appreciate the Little Things
It’s the little things in life that make me happy. And I think that most people would agree you don’t need to lead an extravagant life to lead a happy life. Often the simplest habits when done consistently over time can yield the greatest results. The little everyday things that I currently love are things like: enjoying a bath ~ spending time outside ~ going for a walk ~ snuggles with my kids ~ being creative ~ drinking tea from my favourite mug ~ a good sweat from a workout ~ season changes. It’s these little things that we do regularly that we often take for granted that bring us a lot of happiness.
Clear the Clutter
When you start to get rid of the excess in your surroundings you start to make room for the things you actually love. If your environment is stuffed to the brim with unnecessary things, you aren’t able to see what really lights you up. When you start to clear the physical clutter, you can gain clarity of what you want your surroundings to look and feel like. Try your best to only have things that are useful, necessary and that make you happy.
I’d encourage you to take a good look at your life and think about all you have to be thankful for. Comparing and Complaining are no good to you or me so let’s clear the negative and physical clutter from our lives and do our best to live each day to the fullest.
Have a great day!
Jillian
