Life… it’s a busy thing, isn’t it? The problem is that although being busy can often be seen as a good thing (in many places, the busier you are, the more successful you are, for example - or at least, that’s how you’re seen), it’s not always. Yes, it’s good to have things to do, but if you’re so busy that you’re missing out on life’s simple little joys because you’re always going from one thing to another, that’s not great. In fact, that could be downright dangerous, leading you to suffer emotional and mental health issues, and to experience a lot of regret as time goes on.
The truth is that although work is important, too much is bad for you, and it’s far better to look for happiness in life’s simple moments as that’s what’s going to make you happy as life moves forward. So let’s take a look at how to do that with some practical tips and strategies to help you find joy in the simple moments of life. Read on to find out more.
Take Photos
You might not think about taking photos when you want to find happiness in simple moments, especially since a lot of the time we’re told that we should put our phones and cameras down and just appreciate what’s happening in the here and now.
There is something to be said for that, and you definitely don’t want to live your life through a lens or screen, but equally, taking photos can be a wonderful way to appreciate those smaller moments, so it’s useful to work out a kind of balance you can put in place to make sure you don’t miss out on anything but still get the memories stored so you can re-live the good times over and over again.
Whether you use a professional camera or you snap a few pictures with your smartphone, taking photos can really help you appreciate what’s happening, especially if you’re looking at things with an eye for the special in the mundane because you want a great photo. The key is to make it a habit to document the little moments that bring you happiness, such as a colorful sunrise, a beautiful flower you spot on a walk, or just laughing with loved ones. Looking back at these photos can be a fantastic reminder of the beauty and joy that surrounds you every day, so challenge yourself to take one great photo of a simple thing each day and by the end of the month you’ll certainly have a lot to look back on!
Share Your Day
Another great, and easy, way to find joy in everyday moments is by having conversations with your loved ones and asking specifically about their day - and telling them about yours. When you take the time to share even the smallest details of your day, you’ll remember them in more detail, plus, if you make this a habit, you’ll be more attuned to the kinds of things you’ll want to tell your partner, kids, parents, friends, or whoever else it is you chat to at the end of the day. For example, you might have taken your new labrador puppy for its first walk, or perhaps you saw a cloud shaped like something interesting, or maybe you heard a funny or emotional story on the news. There are no rules about what you can find important enough to tell someone else, the only thing to do is share the joy, and you’ll soon find plenty of different things that you can’t wait to talk to other people about.
It’s often a good idea to make this into a regular part of the day, rather than trying to find a moment to tell your loved one about what you did - and ask them about their own day in return. It can often work well over a meal, for example, or perhaps you can go for a walk after dinner, or maybe you take fifteen or twenty minutes before bed to chat once you’ve turned off the screens (add some hot milk or cocoa and it can become a wonderful ritual that helps you sleep better too!). The point is that making some time to mention some of the simple things you did and saw will definitely help you appreciate them more.
Have Daily Routines
Rituals and routines can also be a wonderful - and actually rather powerful - way to find joy in everyday moments, even if the very fact that they’re so ingrained in your life could mean you don’t realize that and miss the benefits. To get more out of every action that you perform throughout your day, you don’t necessarily have to take more time over it, but you don’t have to rush either - in other words, don’t do things mindlessly and instead make sure you think about what you’re doing. That can be a hard thing to do because these daily rituals become habits, and that means you generally don’t even have to think about them all that much, but if you can step back and take note, you may well be able to find some joy where you didn’t expect to.
You might, like many people do, make some coffee in the morning. Instead of just waiting for the coffee to brew, why not add a new ritual to that time, and listen to the birds singing or make a note of the weather or watch the sunrise? When the coffee’s ready, don’t just dump milk into it - pour carefully and watch the patterns being made on the surface of the liquid before you stir them away. Count the bubbles. When you start to think about it, you’ll come up with all kinds of things you can do that will help you appreciate the simple joys in life a lot more.
You’ll have dozens of different daily routines that you do without a second thought, so now’s the time to find that second thought and start to realize that it’s these small, everyday things that make life worth living.
Pay It Forward
Another practical way to find joy in everyday moments is by practicing gratitude through acts of kindness - it might seem like a tricky thing to add to your day, or even to think about all that much, but it can be done and, for the most part, it should be done. You’ll need to think about how you can essentially perform random acts of kindness for others, but those things don’t have to be big and they don’t have to cost anything - a smile at a stranger can change their entire day around, and it’s made no difference to you (other than to make you feel good, of course!).
There are small things you can do as we’ve mentioned above, but you can do larger things as well, and it’s going to depend on your time and how much you want to help out. You could write someone a thank you note, for example, or you could volunteer somewhere to help those in need.
Another great thing to do is to pay it forward - so you do something nice for someone else every time someone does something nice for you. Not only are you helping others, but you’re also having to be aware of when kindness comes to you, and that can ensure you find the joy you might otherwise have missed. Being more aware of how people treat you can be the joy itself.
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