If someone was asked to describe you in a word, the first thing that came to mind wouldn’t be ‘enthusiastic.’
You struggle to show enthusiasm about things.
Maybe it’s at work…
Maybe your boss has commented on how you don’t seem to give your work your all. Or you’re self-employed and find it hard to put the enthusiasm into your business that you know it needs to thrive.
Or maybe it’s in your personal life…
Maybe you struggle to show enthusiasm to your friends, family, or partner. Maybe it feels alien to get excited about other people’s suggestions, ideas, or celebrate big moments in their lives with them.
And maybe you find it hard to get excited about your own stuff too…
Big trips, promotions, or anything that happens in your life that would have most people popping champagne corks tends to just pass you buy uncelebrated, or even completely unacknowledged.
Maybe it’s all of the above.
It doesn’t really matter. The most important question is:
How can you be more enthusiastic?
You’d like your less-than-enthusiastic approach to life to change.
You want to get enthusiastic about things. Not just to make other people feel good when they achieve something, but also because, let’s be honest, it looks like a lot more fun than the way you live.
Other people just seem to be able to live in the moment, enjoying life, seeing possibilities and potential, and celebrating the good stuff, whether big or small.
Whereas you’re always more inclined to focus on the negatives and find it tough to get enthusiastic, no matter how much you’re looking forward to something, how hard you’ve worked to get it, or how happy you are about it deep down.
So how can you be more enthusiastic? Both about things that happen to you, and to others.
How can you show other people that you’re excited about things?
And how can you tap into that feeling of real enthusiasm and joy that seems to come so naturally to some people?
Here are a few tips for injecting a dose of enthusiasm into your life.
1. Focus your attention on the present.
One of the main reasons people struggle to be enthusiastic is that they’re never truly present in the moment.
They’re always thinking about what they did wrong yesterday or last week.
And if they’re not focusing on the past, they’re worrying about the future, and everything they’ve got on their to-do list.
It’s hard to be enthusiastic about what’s actually happening in front of your eyes in the here and now when you’re thinking about yesterday or tomorrow.
So, the first step toward becoming more enthusiastic is to focus your attention on today.
Whenever you catch yourself dwelling on things that aren’t happening in the present, find a way to bring yourself back.
Taking some time to breathe deeply and focus on the sounds around you can be a great way of boosting your awareness.
Look around you and actively notice the beauty in the things you see every day.
Make a list of all the things you’re grateful for that day, or all the things you’ve achieved, no matter how seemingly small.
That will help you be more appreciative of everything you have and of the things surrounding you, which in turn will mean you find far more to be enthusiastic about.
2. Worry less.
Lots of people struggle to be enthusiastic about things because they’re always worrying about the ‘what ifs.’
They’re always convinced that something’s going to go wrong and focus on that rather than on everything that’s actually going right.
If you can train yourself to worry less and just go with the flow, then it’ll be far easier to feel enthusiastic about the positive things that happen, whether big or small, in your life or the lives of the people around you.
Meditation, breathing exercises, and positive plans of action can all help you put your worries to one side and enjoy the good things in life whilst they last.
3. Lower your expectations.
You might struggle to feel enthusiastic about life because you’re always setting the bar too high and asking for too much.
Whilst it’s great to aim high and push yourself to a certain extent, if you have more realistic expectations then you’re less likely to be disappointed.
That way, when things do work out better than you expect, as they often will, you’ll naturally feel far more enthusiastic than you would if you’d decided you had a bigger mountain to climb.
This is all about striking a happy medium between not being down on yourself and making sure you have something to celebrate when things work out well.
4. Put jealousy aside.
A lack of enthusiasm about other people’s achievements sometimes has a lot to do with jealousy.
If your main emotion when you hear other people’s good news is envy, then it’s only natural that you won’t respond enthusiastically.
If you find you struggle with jealousy, then a good first step can be to limit your use of social media.
We all know that people mostly only share the good stuff, not their struggles.
But when you’re seeing endless pictures of people who appear to be doing amazingly in life, it can be hard to keep that in perspective and stop yourself from getting jealous.
So, stepping back from or toning down your use of social media can be great for taming the green-eyed monster.
If you hear people’s exciting news in person rather than online, it’ll be far easier to get excited for them. And you’re also more likely to hear about the rocky road that finally got them to their goal, which will put things in perspective for you.
Whether it’s on social media or in real life, make an effort to stop measuring your own life and achievements against those of the people around you.
5. Reflect on your own life, goals, and happiness.
If you struggle to show enthusiasm about anything in your life, even big events like finally going on the holiday of a lifetime, getting that big promotion, or big news in your family, then it might be time to reflect.
Maybe you’re just a calm, tranquil person that feels happy but never gets overly enthusiastic about anything. And that’s okay.
But it’s worth considering whether your lack of enthusiasm for life might be stemming from unhappiness or dissatisfaction.
Take some time to reflect on your path in life. What you’ve achieved and what you’re aiming for. Think about what might be missing and whether you need to make any changes.
It might be that one relatively small change to the way you live your life can make a huge difference to how optimistic your outlook is. And, let’s face it, if you’re feeling more optimistic, you’re far more likely to be enthusiastic.
6. Don’t worry about how you’ll come across.
Perhaps you are quite an enthusiastic person on the inside but you don’t like to show it because you are shy and hate having attention on you.
So you don’t make a big show of your achievements or your inner energy for the things you might be doing. You just keep it bottled up.
Whilst this may be your natural personality, you’re reading this article to learn how to be more enthusiastic, and this may involve pushing beyond your comfort zone.
What you have to realize is that when a person expresses their enthusiasm for something, it almost always paints a positive picture of that person. No one is going to think anything but good thoughts about you if you show how enthusiastic you are.
7. Fake it until you make it.
Okay, so pretending to be something you’re not isn’t always great advice. But, in this case, pretending to be more enthusiastic than you actually are can make more of a difference than you’d think.
Think of it as training yourself to feel more enthusiastic about things.
You might have to push yourself to do it, but when other people have good news, try writing congratulatory comments on their social media posts, buying them a little something to say well done, sending cards, giving them big hugs (with their consent), suggesting a celebratory meal…
In your own case, push yourself to share your achievements with the ones you love and suggest celebrations, or just take a little time to revel in what you’ve accomplished and mark the occasion in some way.
If you can take even a couple of the tips above into consideration, you’re bound to start genuinely feeling more enthusiastic about all the good things in life.
And that, in itself, is something worth celebrating.
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