“We and shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never fades.”
—Buddha
A happy and healthy lifestyle is something that everyone wants. We all strive to have a way of life that makes us feel good about who we are as people. This is something that I have been really working on lately, and I have found that two of the biggest impacts on a person’s lifestyle are their thoughts and ideas.
The way that we think is often reflected in our words and actions which, in turn, impacts our way of life. Therefore, if there is an aspect of our lives that we dislike and wish to change, then we must first change the way we think and perceive different situations.
In my experience, one of the fastest and easiest ways to do this is by taking the negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones. Now, I know this is easier said than done. However, I have found that putting even the smallest bit of energy towards thinking positively every day can make a huge difference in the positivity of your life. With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to share a few of the positive ideas that I have recently introduced into my way of thinking, and explain the influence they have on your outlook on life.
You can choose happiness just as easily as you can choose sadness.
I am a strong believer in the idea that we have a choice in everything. We can choose to be kind to the people in our lives, or we can choose to be cruel. Perhaps we will choose to be grateful for the for the things that we have, or maybe we will choose to focus on the things that we don’t. Likewise, we can choose to be happy or we can choose to be sad.
Obviously, some choices are harder to make than others, and choosing to feel a certain way is as hard of a choice as they come. That may be because you can’t really choose to feel something, but you can instead choose to focus on the good things in life rather than the bad. In doing this, you make a decision to be happy and grateful for the things that you have which make for a happier you.
Just because you aren’t where you want to be right now, does not mean that you’re never going to get there.
This is an idea that I recently adopted because I felt that I should be further in my life than I am at the moment. This feeling really started to hit hard around my 20th birthday, which is when I usually reflect upon my recent year. This is when I noticed that other people my age were doing incredible things with their lives.
At that time, I had friends who were studying abroad and experiencing new cultures, while I had others who were interning for amazing companies in order to prepare for future careers. This was all happening while I was going to school in the same town that I had lived in since my sophomore year of high school, doing nothing very productive to prepare for my future. Now, I love my life, my friends and family are everything to me, and I absolutely adore where I grew up. Moreover, there is absolutely nothing wrong with staying close to home for college, but at some times, it felt sort of bland in comparison to where some of my peers were getting an education (like France, for example). Long story short, I was feeling slightly blue about where I was in my life at the start of my 20th year.
But that’s when I realized something: everyone has felt this way at some point or another. This included the people who were off experiencing these wonderful things. This idea brought me comfort because if they too had felt what I was currently feeling, then one day I may get the chance to experience all the things that I had been dreaming of. However, I knew this would only come with time and hard work.
Now, every time I start to feel down about where my life is at the current moment, or get intimidated by the goals that I have set for myself, I use this small idea as motivation to work even harder than I had before. This not only allows me to reflect upon what I want out of my life in the future but also gave me the chance to cherish my life as it was at the present moment.
I find that this idea is incredibly important to remember because it allows you to stop worrying about your current situation and gives you the opportunity to work towards your goals and ambitions. Moreover, this idea serves as motivation to push yourself towards the things you want most. This puts you into a productive state of mind which, in turn, translates into a more productive lifestyle.
Complaining about a problem won’t help to find a solution.
Unfortunately, we all have problems, and like everything, we have the right to be upset when things go wrong. There have been plenty of times when I was faced with a problem, and the first thing that I did was complain about it instead of trying to fix it. I know that I’m not the only one who does this and that’s perfectly normal. But, at some point, we have to realize the only way to fix a problem is to face it.
Life isn’t always perfect. From time to time, it will present us with an obstacle that we must overcome. In those moments of struggle, it is important to remember that complaining is the worst way to tackle a problem. This allows us to instead find more productive ways to resolve the issue before it gets worse, which will make things easier in the long run.
Remember to laugh every day.
Think about the last time you really laughed. Not just a chuckle or a “LOL” that you sent in your last text, but a real, deep belly laugh that sent you into fits and brought tears to your eyes. How long ago was it? A day? A week? Maybe a month? Do you remember how it felt— something that made you so happy that you felt almost euphoric in its presence? What if you could feel that happy every day?
In my humble opinion, life is too short to let a day go by without being as happy as you can possibly be. Obviously, this is harder than it sounds. I mean, we all have days when laughter seems nearly impossible. But, making even the smallest effort to really laugh every day can increase the overall level of happiness in your life.
Unsurprisingly, laughter can positively affect your mood, make any situation feel lighter, and make happiness in every area of your life beautifully easy. When you choose to find something every day that will make you really laugh, you open yourself to all of these possibilities and more. In doing this, you choose a life full of happiness, joy, and, of course, laughter which ultimately gives you a happier and healthier way of life.
Don’t ever apologize for undeniably being yourself.
Do you ever find yourself stuck in a situation in which you end up apologizing for simply being who you are? Yeah me too.
Honestly, this is one of my biggest faults and its something that I have to really work on every day. I constantly find myself saying sorry for things that I should never have to apologize for; and I’m sure that if you asked my friends what the typical-Courtney-line is, they would all agree that the answer is “awe, but I feel bad.”
Obviously, this has created countless problems for me over the years. There have been times when I found that people didn’t respect my thoughts and opinions because I immediately apologized for them the second anyone disagreed. On other occasions, I found that I would rather let other people walk all over me because I felt too bad, or worse afraid, to tell them no. I also know that I am not the only one who does this, which is why I feel that it is so important for me to explain that you don’t have to put yourself through this kind of torture.
Take it from someone who knows, the people who make you feel bad for being yourself simply are not worth the pain that they cause. As for the ones who are, they would never want you to feel sorry for just being you.
This is something that I struggled with for years, but when I started college, I realized that I liked who I was and that I shouldn’t let other peoples’ opinions of me change that. That was when I decide to introduce this idea into my lifestyle, and although I’m still working on this, my life has changed for the better.
By adopting this idea into your life, you are choosing to be who you truly are rather than the person who everyone else thinks you should be. Moreover, you learn that the way others perceive you does not matter if you are happy with yourself. This creates a lifestyle in which you can see who you are in all of your beauty and be truly confident in yourself.