Never According to Plan...
It is inevitable in life that things don’t go according to plan. I just can’t express to you how frustrating that is for someone like me who always needs to have everything all planned out!
I love flying by the seat of my pants too but I want to know if I make a decision how it will all pan out till I’m 65 years old! I’m in my mid 30’s right now. I know it’s not logical to have the next 30 years set in stone but I so want to! Then I look backwards at my life. There is just no way I possibly could have imagined where in the world I would have been today. I’ve lived in crazy places just because. I graduated high school in Iceland. I graduated college in Alaska. I lived in Hawaii and New York and places in between. Even a few years ago, there is no way I could have imagined being where I am today, sitting on a porch in the sunshine of Florida, so how in the world could I ever expect to map out and plan where I’ll be in 30 more years!!
I can’t.
And that’s extremely frustrating!
The good news though is I don’t have to. Life takes care of itself. All we have to do is enjoy the ride. I had to come to the realization that life isn’t about ruminating on the past or methodically planning out the future. It’s great to learn from the events of yesterday. And it’s important to have a structure for tomorrow, but life is lived in this moment. That’s all we’ve got to work with.
That means when obstacles come up, when plans are thwarted, when disappointments arise… the only thing you can control is this moment and how you treat it. Having a life you are excited about is realizing that this moment is all you’ve got so you must make the most of it. Here are 4 tips in enjoying every moment of your life.
You are Powerful…
You aren’t going to love every moment of your life. Even the best job has elements you won’t enjoy. It’s those moments that staying focused on the right things will serve you in having a life you love. The first thing to bring your focus on is the fact that you chose to be in that situation in the first place. This doesn’t mean it’s your fault but you chose everything about that situation or you wouldn’t be there. I know some would say that we must pay bills, we must take care of those we love, we must fulfill our obligations. I would argue that there are a ton of people who don’t do those things. You have chosen you must. I’m not saying its a bad decision at all, I’m just saying you must get present that you are more powerful than you realize in this situation. When you own that you made the decision to be here, even if you don’t love it, look at why and focus on that powerful decision… or change it!
Your Attitude Matters…
If it’s something you can’t change then focus on all the positive things about being in your current situation. When I was dealing with a sick boyfriend, there was a ton of reasons to had the situation and become a victim to it. But I realized I chose to be there by his side and I could focus on all the positive things I accomplished being there till he passed.
Whatever situation you find yourself in, whether good or bad, just remember you are powerful and you get to decide what to focus on.
Always Gratitude…
What are you grateful for? This will always be included in having a life you love. Gratitude is a super power because sadness, anger and fear can’t live in the same space as gratitude. it’s not always easy to do when you want to be angry but keeping yourself in a powerful present space is learning to control your mindset. Even in the worst of moments, look at the world around you and find things to be grateful for. We take so much for granted and when you really look at it, you’ll find you are a total boss with 1st world problems.
Let go of expectation…
Along with staying in gratitude, start letting go of expectations. When we have expectations we set ourselves up to be disappointed. The more you give yourself permission to just be, the more happy you will be. When you compare, when you judge, when you have an expectation about how a situation will go, how a person will behave or how it will turn out, you don’t give the universe space to unfold the way it needs to. Life won’t always turn out the way you want. Sometimes it’s better!!! So let go and just give this moment your best.
Get support always…
In the end though we all fall into the abyss. You know, that dark place of sadness where you just want to crawl into a dark hole and stay there. That’s when you need your team. It’s the hardest thing to do when you don’t feel like it, but your team will help pick you up and show you what to focus on. You just need to reach out and ask! This was a hard lesson for me. Even to this day, reaching out is hard because somewhere in my mind I think it means I’m being weak. See how expectations and judgement can take you from powerful to victim in a second! Even when things are going according to plan, use that team of yours to celebrate wins. They want that too! The most powerful tool you wield is the people you are surrounded by and the groups you are part of. Use them and let them support you as you continue to build your best self cause that is where you build that life you are excited by.