We all want life to be easy. We all want to be comfortable. No one ever wants to second guess themselves and make hard decisions that make us uneasy. But the ironic part is we must get out of our comfort zone in order to make the most out of life. It’s annoying but true.
When I think of the term instant gratification it has a negative connotation to me. Because it means it is some sort of shortcut. It means you are going for the easy, comfortable path instead of the one that will really get you where you dream to be. I wanted to talk about my path from pessimist to Hopefulist first because the instant gratification route for me would have been to just give up, give in and be the person I always was. I wouldn’t have been as happy as I am now, but I would have been comfortable in my miserableness. It was my normal and sitting in front of the t-v every day and night feeling sorry for myself was what I knew best. But as you know, I didn’t stay that way. I am now the happiest I have ever been. Did it happen overnight? Oh, Shell no!
My path from pessimist to Hopefulist was one that took the better part of 48 years to happen. And it was a long time coming. My dream now is to make that process easier and faster for all the other pessimists out there. A daily dose of inspiration and positivity would have made my process so much quicker. But I took the long road but I still did the work it took to get here. And it was work.
I watched a lot of Oprah, I read the books she put out, I read the books she recommended. I watched Dr. Phil and started taking responsibility for the fact that I was unhappy and tried doing something about it. I have read more self-help books than I can even count. I bought those tiny books at the bookstore full of inspirational quotes to read and reread and remind myself as often as possible of what was possible and what I was capable of.
I truly believe the number one thing that really started my change was doing a gratitude journal. For someone who only sees the negative in life it’s so important to find a way to turn that around. That is exactly what the gratitude journal does. You find five things a day that you are truly grateful for. It sets you up to look for something to write down at the end of the day or start of the next. It not only helps you seek out the positive in your life it truly does start to teach you there is such much more to be grateful for than you realize. So are you doing it? Did you get a cute notebook and a fabulous pen to make the process more appealing? If you aren’t doing it yet…I’m telling you…it’s the life changer. This is one step you don’t want to skip. Trust me on this.
One thing all the self-help books mentioned was that you had to be grateful for what you already had in order to get more. I always thought that was so stupid. Why or how can I be grateful for my crappy car when I hate it and want a cool, new car more than anything? Because being grateful for the fact that it gets you where you need to go, grateful that you have a car when many people don’t and grateful that it is still running will set you up have a grateful, positive attitude. This is how we get more of what we want in our lives. Think about it. How does cursing your car and being embarrassed by it help you at all? A negative mind set will never lead you to a happy, positive life. It NEVER will.
So, don’t fall for the lure of instant gratification. Don’t settle for the easy route. The one you are used to and can continue with because it’s what is comfortable. You have to do the work though. You have to look for the good in your life and be grateful for it in order to get more of it. It really is a mindset.
I’m the happiest I have ever been. I am loving my life. I love where I live, I love my friends and all we do together. I love the life my husband and I have built along with our little dog too. I love that I get to talk to you every morning. I love that I feel like I am helping some of you and I hope to spread my message to more and more people. Has any of this been easy? Absolutely not. Is it possible for you also to set up your life so that you don’t need to take a vacation from it? Absolutely! Stick with me. We’ll get there together.
It’s Monday. My favorite day after Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It’s a brand-new week full of possibilities that include a happier you. Now, go make it your best day yet!
Listen to me discuss this topic today on my daily podcast available at Hopefulist.com, on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and TuneIn. Just search for "The Hopefulist"!
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