We've all heard the famous quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "life is about the journey not the destination." While this quote has a great lesson behind it, its cliché idealism gets too often lost. How can we look at that quote and really make it a part of our everyday lives? I'd feel safe to say that a large majority of people reading this article struggle with building the live they want to live while still enjoying their life as it is now. It's only human to look forward to tomorrow as a means to help us get through today, but when we are constantly creating new goals and never enjoying the completion of those goals, we are losing days, weeks, months, or even years of our lives. How can we train ourselves to realize that life really is about the journey, and that the road to the destination is the most important part of life? The journey is the actual being alive part of life, so it must be pretty important. If you struggle finding a way to enjoy every day of your life, know you are not alone.
In my own life I find myself looking towards tomorrow way too often. In high school I was always looking forward to college. Once college came I would spend my days looking forward to the weekend, or the holidays, or summer break. I graduated college and looked forward to the real world, but now I find myself consistently needing more things to look forward to. What is my next move? How can I improve? When will I finally be at that final place of there... wherever that may be? I sometimes feel that my own anxieties and feelings of discontent have robbed me years of my life. I made a list of some ways that I focus my own thoughts in order to help me enjoy the journey of life.
1. Realize you may not have tomorrow Although this is a morbid point to start on, I believe it is the most important. Tomorrow isn't promised because we are fragile and human. It's good to focus your energy on your future self to better prepare for what life may hold, but know that you have no control over when your life is going to end. I'd rather spend my time enjoying life than focusing all of my energy on tomorrow just to find out that tomorrow never came. Human mortality is a subject of so many struggles because it's the one thing in life that we have absolutely no control over. Every person on Earth will die. Once you come to terms with this, you may learn to enjoy the journey of life to the fullest. 2. Wake up each day with gratitude A rewarding way to enjoy the journey of life is to be thankful for the great things that you already have going for you. Make lists every morning of what you are thankful for, who you are thankful for, and all the great things that you have going for yourself. There are so many bright things that can light up darkness. In my own life I find joy in the smallest places like my two cats and my guitar I can barely play. I also find joy in bigger things like the fact that I was born in a time period where women can do just about everything men can. There are so many things to be thankful for, you just need to write them down! 3. Don't compare yourself to others If you're going to enjoy the journey of life you'll need to stop putting pressure on yourself to be everybody else. Stop comparing yourself and start loving yourself. Once you start loving yourself and begin to be proud to be who you are, you will realize that you can enjoy today while working towards an even better tomorrow.
4. Remember all those memories Another beautiful way to enjoy the journey is to test your memory. When I'm feeling like I am not where I want to be yet, I think back and focus my thoughts on the past 6 years of my life and all the things I have accomplished. It helps to write down everything you remember in the past few years. All the good times, the bad times, the stressful times... really any memory you can remember. Write these down and see how much progress you have made in your life! Remember all the laughs you've had, all the friendships you've made, and all the love you've felt. Writing all these memories down on paper is going to make you want to continue living life to the fullest. In ten years you'll want to have an even bigger list of memories to look back on. 5. Realize that you are alive right now
It sounds silly, but I go through a whole day without even realizing that this is life. Sometimes you have to take a step back and see your life in the bigger picture. Right now I am in my twenties; do I want to look back on my twenties and see a ton of stress and tears? No, I want to look back and see that I enjoyed my life. Ground yourself in life and make conscious decisions to laugh and smile more. Be more spontaneous and take risks. Don't wait for life to seem more put together to be happy, enjoy life today. Love this article? Share it with your friends on Facebook And Follow Us on Twitter @lifestylegist FOLLOW US ON OUR BBM CHANNEL C002A9544 FOR LATEST GIST.
In my own life I find myself looking towards tomorrow way too often. In high school I was always looking forward to college. Once college came I would spend my days looking forward to the weekend, or the holidays, or summer break. I graduated college and looked forward to the real world, but now I find myself consistently needing more things to look forward to. What is my next move? How can I improve? When will I finally be at that final place of there... wherever that may be? I sometimes feel that my own anxieties and feelings of discontent have robbed me years of my life. I made a list of some ways that I focus my own thoughts in order to help me enjoy the journey of life.
1. Realize you may not have tomorrow Although this is a morbid point to start on, I believe it is the most important. Tomorrow isn't promised because we are fragile and human. It's good to focus your energy on your future self to better prepare for what life may hold, but know that you have no control over when your life is going to end. I'd rather spend my time enjoying life than focusing all of my energy on tomorrow just to find out that tomorrow never came. Human mortality is a subject of so many struggles because it's the one thing in life that we have absolutely no control over. Every person on Earth will die. Once you come to terms with this, you may learn to enjoy the journey of life to the fullest. 2. Wake up each day with gratitude A rewarding way to enjoy the journey of life is to be thankful for the great things that you already have going for you. Make lists every morning of what you are thankful for, who you are thankful for, and all the great things that you have going for yourself. There are so many bright things that can light up darkness. In my own life I find joy in the smallest places like my two cats and my guitar I can barely play. I also find joy in bigger things like the fact that I was born in a time period where women can do just about everything men can. There are so many things to be thankful for, you just need to write them down! 3. Don't compare yourself to others If you're going to enjoy the journey of life you'll need to stop putting pressure on yourself to be everybody else. Stop comparing yourself and start loving yourself. Once you start loving yourself and begin to be proud to be who you are, you will realize that you can enjoy today while working towards an even better tomorrow.
4. Remember all those memories Another beautiful way to enjoy the journey is to test your memory. When I'm feeling like I am not where I want to be yet, I think back and focus my thoughts on the past 6 years of my life and all the things I have accomplished. It helps to write down everything you remember in the past few years. All the good times, the bad times, the stressful times... really any memory you can remember. Write these down and see how much progress you have made in your life! Remember all the laughs you've had, all the friendships you've made, and all the love you've felt. Writing all these memories down on paper is going to make you want to continue living life to the fullest. In ten years you'll want to have an even bigger list of memories to look back on. 5. Realize that you are alive right now
It sounds silly, but I go through a whole day without even realizing that this is life. Sometimes you have to take a step back and see your life in the bigger picture. Right now I am in my twenties; do I want to look back on my twenties and see a ton of stress and tears? No, I want to look back and see that I enjoyed my life. Ground yourself in life and make conscious decisions to laugh and smile more. Be more spontaneous and take risks. Don't wait for life to seem more put together to be happy, enjoy life today. Love this article? Share it with your friends on Facebook And Follow Us on Twitter @lifestylegist FOLLOW US ON OUR BBM CHANNEL C002A9544 FOR LATEST GIST.
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