When you’re always searching for the next best thing, you can’t appreciate what you have right in front of you.
In a world where whatever you want is often just one click away and you find yourself swept along with the pressures of everyday life, you stop seeing all the moments of joy to be found in each moment.
Having and doing more won’t help you to find fulfillment. By reconnecting with yourself, you’ll find that you already have everything you need around you to be happy… if you just learned to appreciate it.
Read on for some tips on how to make the most out of what you have right now.
Speak to an accredited and experienced therapist to help you feel more appreciative of the things and people in your life. You may want to try speaking to one via BetterHelp.com for quality care at its most convenient.
1. Start a gratitude journal.
Taking the time to write things down gives you the chance to process your thoughts and emotions.
Starting a gratitude journal will help you form a habit of setting time aside each day to think about the things you appreciate.
You don’t have to write a lot, maybe just three thoughts. But thinking back to find good moments in your day, even if you didn’t notice them at the time, will show you that we are always surrounded by things to be thankful for.
Writing down your thoughts means you can revisit them if you ever need a mood boost. You’ll be able to see that, even on your worst days, there were things you could find to be happy about.
You’ll soon find yourself entering into each new day with a more positive and appreciative attitude and begin actively noticing much more around you to be grateful for.
2. Volunteer.
Volunteering to help those in need will quickly put things back into perspective if you feel like you’ve lost yours.
Seeing how people remain positive in the face of adversity will make you realize how appreciative you are of everything you have.
It’s a humbling experience to see the hard work of the charity workers and their commitment to helping others while asking for nothing in return. You can see that what really matters in life are not material things, but human interaction, compassion and support.
It’s not just about helping those in need; any type of volunteering can be a chance to use what you have in a positive way to give back, whether that be volunteering your time, skills, or possessions.
It will make you realize how much you take for granted and help you reassess what it is you really need in life to be happy.
3. Stop comparing yourself to others.
Comparing yourself to someone else isn’t going to make your life better. In fact, by comparing yourself to other people, you’re only thinking about what it is you don’t have rather than everything you do.
You have the ability to make choices and shape your future into whatever you want it to be if only you focused on that.
Comparing yourself to other people is a waste of your precious time and energy. Be grateful for your own thoughts, feelings, and skills, and channel your energy into expanding those.
No one is ever as perfect as they seem, so appreciate the gifts of your own unique abilities and see how far they can take you in your life rather than getting caught up in someone else’s.
4. Make the most out of what you already have.
Do you ever go through your wardrobe and come across an item of clothing you completely forgot you owned?
Sometimes we don’t have to go and buy something new; we just have to get reacquainted with what we already have.
Revisit an old book on the shelf that you haven’t read for years, or make an effort to wear the clothes at the back of your drawer. Dig out footballs and tennis rackets from the garage or old photo albums from the loft.
Often, we have everything we need and more to entertain ourselves; we just forget to make the most of them.
Upcycling is another way to make something that feels new out of things you already own.
Whether it’s clothes or something for the house, you’ll appreciate the final piece so much more from having the satisfaction of making it yourself rather than buying it.
You don’t need more to be happy, you just need to see the potential of everything that is right in front of you.
5. Imagine life without.
We never fully appreciate something until it’s gone. You never think about the boiler or the light switch until the water goes cold or the power cuts out.
If you find yourself feeling discontent, try looking at something you take for granted and imagining life without it.
Test yourself once in a while by going without something that’s part of your everyday and you’ll soon realize how many things we don’t appreciate as much as we should.
It will show you what you really miss and what really matters to you. You’ll realize just how appreciative you are of the little things in life that make each day easier and brighter.
6. Spend less time on social media.
Spending too much time on social media can be the fastest way to make you feel unsatisfied with what you have.
When every post is someone out having fun, on holiday, or posing with something expensive, it only highlights everything you aren’t doing or don’t have.
Social media isn’t real life. We’re not just referring to the editing and filters that go into making these posts look a hundred times better than they actually are either.
Posts on social media are a snapshot in time. For the second it took to post, everything might seem perfect, but we have no idea about the reality of the situation.
Social media only captures what a person wants you to see and you have no idea how much of this ‘perfect image’ is really staged.
This pressure to project the perfect image can stop you from experiencing life for what is it. Getting sucked into worrying about getting the right angle or filter and coming up with the perfect caption can stop you appreciating the real experience in front of you as you live life through your phone screen.
Social media encourages you to care about what everyone else thinks and for you to judge others. You’ll find life much more fulfilling if you embrace it with your full attention and appreciate each minute in real time.
7. Choose some positive daily affirmations.
Our mood first thing in the morning has a huge impact on how we feel for the rest of the day. We can’t always control how we wake up, but we can introduce techniques to put us in a positive frame of mind going forward.
Choosing some daily affirmations to say to yourself as soon as you wake up can be a simple but effective way to boost your confidence and start your day with a more welcoming and grateful attitude.
They can be personal to you, but try choosing a mantra for yourself to repeat when you wake up that will help to center your mind around what is important.
Whatever you choose to say, make sure it’s something that resonates and fills you with a sense of joy and peace that you can carry into the day.
Starting off the day well will help you go about your activities with a sense of gratitude and be more appreciative for whatever your day has to offer.
8. Practice self-care.
Make it a regular occurrence to treat yourself in some simple way.
Make tea in your favorite mug, read a book, exercise, indulge in a facemask – whatever it is that you enjoy, make it part of your routine.
When you’re struggling to keep up with the pace of a busy life, it’s easy to forget just how appreciative you are of a slice of me time where you don’t have to worry or think about anything else.
It’s not selfish to spend time on yourself, it’s essential to help you put things into perspective if you feel lost in the expectations of daily life.
Make it a habit to show yourself some love. Appreciate your mind and your body and the joy it is to be alive.
9. Stay mentally present.
When you’re always thinking about what’s next, you miss everything going on in the moment.
You might be worrying about tomorrow instead of enjoying a delicious meal your partner has cooked. You could be so excited for an upcoming holiday that you don’t realize what a beautiful day it is outside.
Not only do you miss the joy in the moments you have in front of you when you’re so preoccupied with other things, you end up wishing your life away by focusing solely on what’s ahead.
Checking in on yourself to see if you’re mentally present is a good way to reconnect with the moment and remind yourself to be more appreciative of everything you have right now.
10. Tell someone you love them.
Taking a moment to reach out to a friend or family can be a humbling and necessary experience.
Spend time really thinking about how much that person means to you and you’ll realize just how grateful you are that you have them and how empty life would be if they weren’t there.
Take the opportunity to give back some of the love and joy they have brought you by telling them how much they mean to you.
Sharing love with those you care about is the greatest gift we can offer. Just checking in on someone to see how they are can make the biggest difference to their day.
We take those we love for granted because they are always there, but these are the people we should be the most grateful for. You wouldn’t be who you are without them.
There is so much joy to be found all around us if we just take the time to recognize it.
We don’t have to buy more or achieve more to make us happy, not if we realize that we already have everything we need to be content.
When you start to open your eyes and appreciate the world around you, you’ll never run out of things to be grateful for.
It’s a simple change in attitude that could change the rest of your life.
Still not sure how to truly appreciate what you already have in your life?
Talk to a therapist about it.
Why? Because they are trained to help people in situations like yours.
They can help you to reframe your thinking so that gratitude comes more easily to you and you stop chasing the next thing all the time.
BetterHelp.com is a website where you can connect with a therapist via phone, video, or instant message.
While you may try to work through this yourself, it may be a bigger issue than self-help can address.
And if it is affecting your mental well-being, relationships, or life in general, it is a significant thing that needs to be resolved.
Too many people try to muddle through and do their best to overcome behaviors they don’t really understand in the first place. If it’s at all possible in your circumstances, therapy is 100% the best way forward.
Online therapy is actually a good option for many people. It’s more convenient than in-person therapy and is more affordable in a lot of cases.
And you get access to the same level of qualified and experienced professional.
Here’s that link again if you’d like to learn more about the service BetterHelp.com provide and the process of getting started.
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