Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff – Savor It

“Don’t sweat the small stuff” they say. And they – whoever “they” is, have a good point. It’s easy to get caught up in all the little things that stress us out and ruin our day.

Days in the firelife like this are many. Frankly it’s not worth wasting a lot of energy on a lot of things that happen on a daily basis that we don’t like. Sure, we could get upset over the fact that someone else took the last good parking spot, or that the grocery store is out of our favorite brand of cereal. Or that once again, the furnace is broke on shift day.

Or we can choose to not make a big deal out of it and use that small, fairly insignificant stuff to practice seeing the positive side of things. Having to park further away means we get to exercise a little and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine for a couple of minutes while we stroll into the office. Not being able to find our favorite cereal, means we get a chance to try something new that we may like even better. The furnace breaking means we get to crank up the gas or wood stove or snuggle up with the kids in a pile of blankets.

There are two sides to any situation and as human beings we have a choice in how we look at it. Make it a goal to look on the bright side and watch your happiness and contentment go up. Then take it a step further and start to really pay attention to all the good stuff around you. Heard of stopping to smell the roses? Do it.

I’m serious. There’s a lot of value in noticing all the positive things around you. There’s a lot of tiny little things around you that will put a smile on your face, if you take the time to notice them. Make it a habit to spend some of your downtime this week to savor the small stuff. Notice how your cup of coffee smells, how it warms your hands on a cool morning, and how it tastes. Pay attention to the birds outside your window and notice how watching them and their antics around the bird feeder makes you smile. Appreciate the hug your little one gives you after you pick her up from school. In other words, savor all the small stuff that makes you happy. It may not be much, but it all adds up to a very happy life. You just have to make the time to notice it.

Over the coming weeks, practice noticing and savoring the small stuff. Don’t let the bad stuff bring you down. Instead, make it a goal to find something positive about everything that happens to you throughout the day. Pay particular attention to all the little things that make you smile. Acknowledge them and it won’t take long before you feel this simple little exercise making a big difference in your overall outlook on life.

This is something I push in the Wife Behind the Fire group. Yes, rant and rave and get it out of your system. But you need to turn right around and find something good in your life and post about it. This idea of balance I have is what led to my creating FireLife Gratitude and this challenge. Life can really suck and it’s easy to wallow in it. But if we focus on the good things going on it brings others up out of their wallowing as well. It’s infectious and why not spread some happiness?

Homework today: Every time something negative pops into your head, think of a positive going on. If you can turn that negative directly into a positive, all the better. If not, just think of puppies. That’s the joke in our firewife group. If you can’t think of something positive, you can always post that you like puppies. Who doesn’t like puppies?! lol

We are a week into the 30 days to a Happier YOU challenge and if you have missed previous days, join the email list and get each day sent to you.

I’d love to hear 5 things that you turned into a positive this week. Post them below!

Working on our happy together,

 

PS – Would you like more accountability during this challenge and on a personal level? Schedule a free 15 minute chat and lets see if FireWife Coaching is for you.