How To Make Your Life Already Perfect

In my early teens, I went for a sleep-over at one of my friends’ houses. He was American and his family was quite religious so they would say grace before each meal.

We would all hold hands around the table and say a prayer thanking the Lord for the food that was in front of us.

I had never seen anything like this before and as an immature teenager I struggled not to burst out laughing. Luckily I was also holding hands with his good looking older sister, so that kept me in check.

The way we started our meals at home was completely different… as soon as everyone was served, one of us would shout “Bon Appetit” and then it was a race.

The first one to finish would get access to second helpings.

It was a race to get the last bit of Mac and Cheese or whatever delicious meal my Mum would cook for us.

As a result, even to this day I still eat very fast. I wolf things down so quickly you might think it’s my first meal since coming out of prison.

As soon as I take a mouthful I’m already focused on the next one.

Sometimes I doubt whether I actually enjoy the food, instead I think I just enjoy the thought of what the next mouthful is going to taste like.

Have you ever been so focused on “the next thing” that you completely forget to enjoy what you already have?

Getting a promotion and then already thinking about the next one… planning your next holiday while already on holiday… or eyeing up the latest iphone when you have just bought a new one…

We seem to live in a culture of more is better. We are constantly chasing the next thing, hoping that it will make us feel better. Then when we reach it and it doesn’t we chase the next thing again.

And while this might drive us forward and take us to places we might never have been or achieve things we might never have achieved. Is it really worth it if the entire time we are never feeling satisfied?

That’s why it is also important to also take the time to acknowledge and be grateful for the things we already have.

Expressing gratitude interrupts us from our forward thinking lives and forces us to be present with what we have right now.

When we regularly take the time to be grateful and list everything that is already perfect about our life then we can learn to really appreciate it way more.

In the same way that being grateful for the food on our plates (or in our mouth) can help us enjoy it more.

If you want to feel more content, happy and fulfilled, it’s important to spend some time each day expressing gratitude.

You can do this in a diary, to your spouse/kids or even to yourself in the mirror.

Write down a list of things you are grateful for and revisit it on a regular basis.

Ask yourself: “What are things about my life that I would never want to give up or live without? (It can be material possessions, experiences, people etc.).

The more you do this, the more you will learn to appreciate what you already have and stop chasing the next best thing that will never satisfy you.

What’s the one thing you are the most grateful for today and will be adding to that list?

Originally published at https://www.alexlifecoach.com on April 28, 2021.