Enjoy the Scenery

If you've lived for forty minutes, you know that a plan rarely goes off without a hitch, especially when it comes to the big plans. It's often quite difficult to adjust to changes and sometimes, you are even forced to scrap plans altogether. Then what?

When the world takes a turn we don't expect, we often get a little bummed out. "Why did this have to happen? Everything would have been perfect if it had just gone the way I wanted." All too often, I see people, rather than living in the present reality, living in the past non-reality, the point where the old adage "coulda, woulda, shoulda" comes in, or setting themselves up for hardship by basing their happiness on certain expectations of the future. Rather than enjoying the present moment, many decide that they're not happy now because their life could and should be some other way.

Live in the Present Moment

If you want to be truly happy, at any moment in time, stop and be mindful of the present moment. Look around you and see all that is wonderful in your life.

Does this mean that you shouldn't have plans or expectations? Absolutely not! Plans and expectations are there to point you in the right direction, to give you guidance as to where you want to go and how to get there. Developing yourself into a better, happier person is what life's all about. But as I've said before, don't focus so much on the destination and start to enjoy the journey.

If you want to be a healthier person, you should set a goal, for example, to develop a habit of going running five days a week by the end of this month. By the end of this month, if you only go three days a week, does that mean you are a failure? Does this mean that you haven't become a healthier person? Not at all! You've successfully developed a new habit of going 3 days a week, you have succeeded in becoming a healthier person. You should relish in the fact that you have developed and improved yourself. You pointed yourself in a certain direction and you progressed in that direction, and the fact that you didn't make it as far as you wanted doesn't mean you would've been better off not trying at all. See the positives in all situations and you will never have a failure, just a smaller step in the right direction.

If you end up on a road you didn't expect, enjoy the scenery :)

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.