There is a sentence from the article Valuing life to achieve well-being published in selfhelpresources.com that I loved and decided to start this post with it: Valuing what we have is the first step to achieving a subjective state of happiness. Let's analyze it for a moment. To value is simply to be grateful and give due importance to something or someone in our lives. Taking the first step means that we have to actively seek our happiness, take steps towards it. And it qualifies happiness as a subjective state because it depends on each person's perspective to give a definition to what happiness is. for each of them.
Now, it seems that many times we focus more on what we don't have, on what we lack, on our shortcomings ("when I have x or y, I'll be able to be happy!") that in all those things that we do have, and that if we valued them more, they could give us that happiness that we are frantically searching for where it is not.
The article Learn to value what you have, before it's too late of lamenteesmaravillosa.com offers three wonderful tips so that from this very moment you can begin to value all the good things in your life, which will make you feel instantly happy:
- Discover the little treasures of your life: Let's talk about simple things like having a roof over your head, food to eat, hot water, which may not seem like big things to you right now, but if you stop for a minute to think about the hundreds of millions of people in this world who don't even have clean water to drink or bathe in or a loaf of bread to eat, then it's up to you to be thankful and appreciate your home, your food. (Even your senses! You can see, smell, talk, touch, walk. How many people in the world can't?) Let's also talk about those little things and moments that all the money in the world can't buy, the smile of a child, the hug of your partner, the warmth of your family, that fun time with friends.
- Valuing what you have requires effort: Why make an effort? Because it has to be done consciouslyYou should take a moment during the day, just like you take a moment to shower or brush your teeth, to stop what you are doing and be thankful from the bottom of your soul for the things you do have. It is not bad to aspire to more, but you should think that, even if you do not get that extra thing you want, you can be happy with what you have now.
- Taking value away from unimportant things: We often fail to properly value what we have because we give too much importance to the insignificant things that happen to us. Nobody likes having to wait in line for twenty minutes at the bank, and that can make you angry, but if you see it as an opportunity to spend twenty uninterrupted minutes talking to your child, you might be grateful for it instead of stressing yourself out.
Finally, do a revealing exercise: Close your eyes and think for a moment about losing everything you have, and all the people you love. How would you feel? At that moment, open your eyes and start appreciating them, right now, right now.