Maybe you’re having a shitty day. Maybe you’re having an incredible day. Often, a simple change in point of view can have an immensely positive impact on your outlook. There are an innumerable amount of small changes you can make in your thought pattern to improve life, so take the small steps with me as we try to create a more holistic view of feeling like you’re on top.
The first exercise: Realize that if you could live THIS instant for eternity and be totally satisfied, you have found bliss.
THIS moment need not be an orgasm or monetary bonus. It can be sitting in traffic, walking outside, the company of friends, the joy of solitude. No matter what your situation, extrapolate it into foreverness. Pretend, for a moment, that your task in this world was to do whatever you are doing RIGHT NOW until the end of time. What you are doing right now may not be typically labeled as an enjoyable thing. In fact, it can be something that’s often looked at as entirely and unequivocally negative. It might be washing dishes, cleaning up after your pet, arguing with a loved one. Whatever it is, if you can manage to find SOME, ANY bright spot in it, and amplify this positivity, any situation can go from horrible to tolerable, tolerable to enjoyable, and enjoyable to blissful.
Situations that we typically define as enjoyable are easy for this exercise. Imagine having to live that morning cuddle, where you know you can both lay in a warm cozy bed together for another 3 hours, for all eternity. Not so bad. Such a moment is easy to enjoy fully. However, it takes some practice and an open mind and heart for the most difficult ones.
Example – You’re stuck in traffic. Shit. But maybe you like the song that’s on. Or you are on the way to a cool place. Or, simply, you are fortunate enough to have a car and need not walk.
Another argument comes up in the course of your relationship. The bright side? Perhaps you two will understand each other better at its conclusion. Or, the reason you argue instead of breaking up is the mutual desire to keep the relationship going.
Your car gets totaled, you are going to go broke fixing it, it’s raining, and your cat died. Well, at least you have been given the opportunity to experience life. It’s the greatest gift of all.
This line of thinking will help make the world seem like a sunnier place. Life is only as beautiful as we decide it is, so the choice is ultimately yours. If you ever find yourself in a (recurring) negative thought pattern, reassess the situation, and find something positive that will come out of it. It will most likely take some time and practice, but happiness will follow.
In the end, this is a corollary to “make the most of/with what you’ve got,” one of the most valuable lessons that I’ve learned in life. Be well!
