Appreciation As The Key To Being Happier

That we are suffering more and more is an indisputable reality. In the old days, people were much more tolerant and conformist, they felt comfortable with what they had and were free of unnecessary needs. But today it is not enough for us, we want to be more, have more, reach more, as if more were always synonymous with better.

The result is dissatisfaction with life in general and the feeling that something is always missing. If we assume that our emotions are determined by our mental filter, that our attitude is the screen of external reality, we will realize that we have immense control to change ourselves. Everyone owns their own coconut and nothing and nobody can get into it.

Fortunately, we have the ability to stop being slaves to what culture, society and the world try to sell us. We do not have to buy the idea that the external will give us happiness, that much desired job, that long-awaited partner, being the most handsome or the most admired … This really is nothing, it can give you some pleasure or fun, but remains at that.

We believe that all these things will make us happy because we have placed unrealistic expectations on them and we also think that we really need it, when it is not like that at all. Once you get it, you realize that it was not so bad and that your mood remains the same. .. But this that I wanted so much was not going to make me happy at last? What has happened?

• Stop looking to blame: No one is to blame for your problems. If you feel unwell or miserable, it is yours. Do not forget that the owner of your mind is you. Blaming others puts you in the position of a puppet, with no control over your life.

• Give thanks : If you consciously reflect on everything you have, you will realize that you have plenty of everything and you are privileged. Do the exercise of taking paper and pencil and making a list of what you have, both tangible and intangible. And when I talk about everything you have, it’s everything from having legs to run to having a job to eat. We cannot forget the reality: there are people who do not have it. Therefore, say thank you.

• Enjoy the small pleasures of life : savor a good coffee, hallucinate with a beautiful sunset, appreciate that you eat every day, even too much, laugh out loud with someone because yes, even if there is no reason, get excited with a good rock song … It really is all these little things that make us the happiest, if you are able to appreciate and enjoy them.

• Let’s play: Think that life is nothing more than a game. If you realize it, we are stuck in a planet shaped like a spinning ball, within an infinite universe. Nothing makes much sense or is quite unknown to us. What you have to do is be thankful that you, if you have had the privilege of being born, that you are here to see, smell, touch and feel everything that nature and the world can offer you.

• You are the protagonist, not the victim: Stop telling yourself how miserable you are! Start looking around you and see that you have everything you need to be well, from now on. You are complaining about what you lack and that is your mistake. If you want things to be different, start looking for solutions, to create changes but stop playing the victim, that is not going to help you.

There are people in the world much worse than you, and yes, others will be better off. This is life. Get out there, fight for what you have to fight for, live the only life you are going to live as it turns out, and stop wasting your time thinking that the world is against you. The world has not stopped to think about how you want things to be nor do you need to.

Images courtesy of Maria Kalacheva