Appreciating Every Moment Of Your Life

When was the last time you stopped to admire the beauty of and smell of the flowers? When was the last time you allowed yourself to stop and appreciate life as it happened to you? 

People say that gratitude exercises help you see life from a different perspective. Although life can sometimes give you lemons, it also provides opportunities to turn them into lemonade. 

It takes a lot of courage to see beyond the challenges and worries that come your way. It is not like you can be positive all day every day. Sometimes, the problems can bring you down so low that you feel like you will never resurface. They can even shake your sense of self, making you wonder why these things happened to you. 

Gratitude and appreciation, however, are innate parts of human nature. It is the part of our being that makes us see the light. It allows us to turn not-so-good experiences into learning milestones. 

There may be times when life’s challenges become unbearable, but that feeling of gratitude will turn things around. 

Perhaps what you need to ask yourself today is this—do you ever stop to smell the flowers?

Why Do You Forget To Show Gratitude?

It is relatively easy to get caught up with all the things that need to be done. You have a pile of tasks at work and home, waiting to be completed. And then there are other things like your kids, your social life, or maybe even your special someone. 

All the relationships you have built in this lifetime seems to require something from you. Sometimes, it can be exhausting just keeping up with their demands. But then again, you feel much lower whenever you fail to meet their expectations. Sometimes, you face the challenges head-on and hope for the best. 

But there are times when you get so tired that you no longer care. These are the moments when you find it hard just to stop and appreciate what you have. Your busy schedule and tons of responsibilities make it seem impossible to stop to smell the roses. It’s not possible to enjoy some quiet and get lost in your thoughts. It becomes difficult to listen to the music and hear the message the universe is trying to send you. 

People fail to appreciate the good in life, not because they do not care. Instead, it is because they end up caring too much. Failing to express gratitude, has become a human flaw. It is not because they do not recognize the gifts for which they should be thankful. It is because they have become too exhausted even to notice. 

When you reach a point in your life when you begin to forget to show appreciation for what you have, even for the little things, remember to stop. Remind yourself that there is a reason why you are doing what you are doing. Allow yourself to experience life. 

How Can You Practice Appreciation Today?

When you overthink what lies ahead, you will fail to see the life that is happening right before your eyes. So before you get all caught up with what the future has to offer, here are a few things to remind you what to be grateful for today.

Self-awareness is the key

The first thing that you need to teach yourself is how to live in the moment; to be more self-aware. How do you achieve this? Ask yourself what makes you happy. What are you thinking? Why do you feel the way you do? 

Remember that you are where you are today because of the actions you have made and the decisions you have taken. There is nobody else to blame but yourself. But then again, self-awareness is not about taking all the blame for all the seemingly unfortunate consequences that have happened in your life. 

Instead, it is about learning from your mistakes, picking up the pieces, and moving forward to become a better version of who you are. If you want to tread a different path tomorrow, that is all up to you. Make better decisions and choices in the future. 

Embrace who you are

Your state of life is a product of your own choices. Instead of shying away from it, embrace it with all your heart. Allow your normal, natural, healthy state to help you make decisions for the future. 

Be happy where you are. Embrace the flaws that you have. They make you who you are. But remember that your mistakes do not define you. Laugh, all you want. Cry a little on the side. When you acknowledge the moments that happen in your life and make it a habit, it would be easy to see how blessed you are for being you. Eventually, you will find yourself feeling happy most of the time. 

Keep an attitude of gratitude

If you genuinely want to enjoy the benefits of life, you must be able to develop in you the attitude of gratitude. 

The habit involves expressing how thankful you are for all the things and the people you have in your life. It does not matter whether everything that happens in your life is good. Sometimes, it is the bad experiences that make you think about how truly blessed you are. 

An attitude of gratitude is about expressing joy in everything that you do. It is about being more sensitive about how others feel. The more appreciation you show, the happier your disposition will be.  

If you ever need to ask yourself, why is gratitude important, stop, and think. You have life, and that’s enough for you to be grateful for. You need to show gratitude because it is one of the things that make you human. 

You are you because of the choices that you make. And when you choose to be grateful today, it becomes fairly easy to see how good life can be.