Why Realizing What You Have Is The Most Important Step To Getting What You Want
Of all the lessons I've learned in life, the most important is that nothing is absolute. While each of us will travel a unique path, there is a very communal quality regarding the overt impermanence of our experiences. For all of us, moments of elation eventually give way to periods of hardship and vice versa.
As we wander down the roads of our individual lives hoping to avoid potential cracks in the pavement, all we can really control is a mindfulness of the rare constants that enable us to move forward. Aspiring to have more or be more is healthy, instigates growth and permits us to see beyond our limitations.
Yet, for even the most motivated of people, if there is an utter lack of gratitude, there is little benefit to gain. Acknowledging and appreciating where you are on your journey and who is at your side as you wander through life’s ups and downs is the most honest approach to finding happiness, as well as success.
Fulfillment comes from appreciating what you have, not in desiring what you lack.
By constantly fixating upon something that is lacking in your life, you sentence yourself a state of perpetual emptiness. There will always be things — jobs, relationships, materials — you want to acquire, but the relationships and experiences that we have are the ones that help us move from Point A to Point B on our journeys. By using and appreciating what actually exists, we allow ourselves to understand more profoundly what more we want and how to attain those things.
Appreciation necessitates positivity, which encourages and nurtures progress. Taking stock of the existing good doesn’t mean forgetting about goals for the future, but instead, brings a heightened sense of joy to the process. With every new experience, there is something to be gained. Recognizing that truth is a great way to continue gravitating toward the types of things that have fueled you as a person.
The bottom line is that you get what you give, and to truly get things out of life, you must be committed to actively giving appreciation to the things you already have.
Finding strength in your fears will allow you to achieve.
Whether it’s a bad breakup, an unhappy job or some other personal crisis, moments of adversity make it frighteningly easy to lose sight of the distance you’ve already traveled. While we may have little control over the roadblocks we meet and sometimes, the ruts into which we fall, how we choose to handle these experiences is entirely within our power. Dwelling may temporarily alleviate the pain, but focusing on the negative rarely empowers anyone to climb out of the sad abyss in which they are stuck.
It’s true that the things that don’t kill you will make you stronger. Obviously, finding the value in loss and struggle is far more difficult than finding gratitude for the beautiful things in our lives. But, finding the power to accomplish the former is worth every bit of labor it requires. When you learn to see beyond the minute details of an experience and instead identify the lesson it generates, you will be more resilient in the future. You will also be more able to identify the good when it finds its way back to you.
Photo via We Heart It
