How many times have you been in an unpleasant — or maybe dreadful — situation and wished, deep in your heart, that you could simply EXIT the situation and go back to “enjoying the simple things in life”?
In those stressful, awful moments — and they can last for a while if the situation is exceptionally toxic — a multitude of things that we had that we no longer have comes roaring into our consciousness. Not big things — they’re never BIG things.
Little things. Ordinary things. Profoundly ordinary, in fact. Things like walking your dog; or, if you don’t have a dog, simply walking in the park and enjoying the scenery. Or maybe it’s listening to your favorite music, seeing a favorite film, reading a great book…or doing any of the little things that we REALIZE WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR when — and, sadly, only when — we lose them; when access to those things becomes either impossible or, at least, temporarily blocked.
So the lesson for today is short and sweet 🙂 Make a list of 10 very, very, very ordinary things in your life that you enjoy. Remember: we aren’t talking about “cruise vacation around the world” or “making a million dollars” kind of things. We’re talking the basic of the basic; the ordinary of the ordinary. Stuff that you really don’t even REALIZE that you like until a situation engulfs you and you shake away the fog of forgetfulness and go: hey, I really liked doing that…wish I could do it again…
Make your list. If eating a bowl of ice cream is on the list, that’s fine. If seeing the sunset is on the list, great. Just make sure that it’s simple, that it’s easy to achieve, and that it’s REALLY something that you enjoy — something that you do because of its intrinsic quality; not because it’s a means to something else. So that means “going shopping” probably isn’t going to be on the list, or something that is really more about “depression maintenance” than it is “accessing peace.” There is a difference. A big one.
Make your list of 10 things and then…DO THEM!
It’s that easy. 10 a day. 10 ordinary, little things that you like (and that like you 🙂
Watch how something so…ridiculously simple can utterly transform your life. Try it today!