You Don’t Need to Feel 100% to Enjoy Life
Problematic issues will always pop up in your life, no matter how lucky you are. I’ve always had something going on that clouded the recesses of my thoughts. Either it was a bad back, no girlfriend, an unfulfilling job, or some other thing that I worried about. It was the nature of my emotions. I needed everything on my list to be checked off to feel 100%. This happened so rarely that I could never experience a whole day of feeling wonderfully perfect.
That impossible thinking has stopped.
“Finding the enjoyment in where I’m at” is the perspective I’ve taken over the past couple of years. It’s been an amazing help in every situation. When I wake up in the morning I notice how the sunlight peeks through the curtains onto the corner of the bed sheet, not just the sluggishness of a weary body.
I don’t need my back to feel great.
I don’t need to have sex.
I don’t need to buy something new.
All I need is the ability to find the enjoyment.
My wedding day was a great moment in my life and if someone asks about it I always gush with happiness. But the truth is that even on such a wonderful day I was nervous, anxious, stressed out, tired, and my stomach was going crazy. It doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy the memories of my family gathered together, my lovely wife-to-be, the spastic dancing, and the whole scene. I could choose to remember the upsetting parts of my wedding day, but that would be crazy, so I choose to remember the happy moments.
What have you noticed in your day that you could have plucked a little more enjoyment from?
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Your shower?
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Your breakfast?
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That first sip of coffee?
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The usual lull in the afternoon?
Whatever it may be, there is always some bit of enjoyment that you can extract from the situation. Even if you are a teacher and have a bunch of kids acting out, step back for just a milli-moment and soak up that scene before you calm them down. Appreciate their excitement for all it’s worth because one day they’ll be grown up and be responsible adults that will probably never show that same enthusiasm again.
That’s the key: appreciating the moment you are in without giving in to that little voice in your head that’s complaining. Yes, that little voice will probably always be there, but the more you focus on appreciating where you’re at, the softer that voice will become.
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Karl @ February 25, 2008