The Secret to Enjoying Life

Hiya, folks!

I'd like to start off this blog post with a favorite quote of mine.

"It's a good day to have a good day."

And it's so true! Everyday is a new opportunity to start fresh and new and be happy! I hope your day today started off well, and if not, may this post bring a little sunshine to your day. (Every hour, too, is a good chance to start over and begin anew). This is all super cheesy and corny, but you catch my drift, I hope. It never hurts to spread good vibes.

Anyway, for today's post, I'd like to share with you some of my tips and advice to "enjoying life." These are not exactly secrets, but they have personally helped me so far in my short life (only 23 years), and they continue to help me even when I'm struggling most. So here you go; read them with care and try to practice some of these things as often as possible, preferably on a daily basis. Enjoy!

To start off, you should know that I am not perfect (no one is), and I am not always this cheerful or happy. But I try my hardest to be cheerful and happy. And let me just say, it is SO DIFFICULT sometimes. But the idea is to not give up - and if you want something bad enough, you got to work hard to get it.

A few of my secrets to being happy and living and enjoying my life:

1. Live day-to-day. You can't rush your life away. Stop thinking about what you're doing tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year. It will only stress you out like crazy. And to enjoy your life, you gotta stop stressin' so much, man. So practice this: take things as they come, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Ain't no reason to worry about the future. It'll only make you nuts.

2. Remember to breathe. Take a chill pill. Figuratively or literally (hey, nobody's judging). Life will go on after you've accidentally spilled that glass of milk (but let's not kid ourselves, it was probably a glass of wine, or the whole bottle - but like I said, nobody's judging). Taking a timeout to just count to 10, or take deep breaths can make a world of a difference. So start following this tip and your life may in fact become much easier to handle.

3. Balance work and play. Of course we all need to work (except for those of you who are millionaires, in which case, share some of the wealth), but we all also need to play. Work hard, hardly work - whatever you do, make time to go out with friends or spend some quality time with family (unless your friends or family drive you crazy and you want to strangle them in their sleep - but if this happens often or at all, refer to tip #2). Go have a few drinks, or see a good movie, or eat a whole lotta soft-serve with some ol' pals. You will be much happier after a hard day's work + a hard day's play.

4. Make time for yourself. Some of us hate being alone; and that's okay. It's completely understandable. But, some of us love having alone time. In which case, feel free to climb into bed by yourself and sit and watch Netflix all day. Or, read a good book, make some art, take a nice hot bath, whatever you like to do by yourself.

5. Exercise and eat right. I am the worst when it comes to these two things. I hate exercise and I love cake. Two things that just don't go together. I'm happy with this combination sometimes, but at the end of the day, I think, "Ugh. I should have gone for that walk and not had that cake." But really it's more like, "Ugh. That cake was delicious. I'll go walk to the store to burn it all off - and then buy another cake for tomorrow." It's terrible, I know. But sometimes, and I really mean very few times, I get out and walk a couple miles, eat some veggies and fruit, and when I'm in bed for the night, I feel unbelievably proud of myself. And I feel refreshed and rejuvenated, and like I could take on the world. Ask any doctor - while exercising, lots and lots of endorphins are released by your brain, making you overall happier. So give it a try! But also, don't be afraid to break the rules sometimes - that cake in your fridge will just go bad if you don't help yourself to a slice.

6. Help others. This sort of correlates with a number of things I've already mentioned. First of all, when you're working, you're more than likely already helping others - your boss, your coworkers, your clients, etc. When you're playing or hanging out with friends and family, you're entertaining them as well as yourself. And when you're not wasting that cake in your fridge, you're saving some space at the city dump - yay for helping the environment! But on top of all these things, get out there and do something for someone else. Someone you don't even know. You could volunteer somewhere, or if you're not up for that, try little things. Like holding the door open for someone, paying for the next person in line's coffee at Starbucks, etc. It will not only make YOU feel good, but others, too.

7. Lastly, live simply. Do you really need that fancy coat or purse? Do you need that extra frappuccino from Starbucks? Do you need the newest smartphone? The answer to all of these is NO. Be grateful for what you have, and save yourself some money. Get out there and enjoy your surroundings. Enjoy nature, enjoy the company of others, enjoy time with yourself. You don't need a whole lot to be happy. They say that the more you have, the more miserable you are. Two of my favorite people, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau wrote about appreciating what's around you, like nature and people as I just mentioned, and living simply. Thoreau once said: “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail.”

And that's all for now. I hope you learned a few new things to try. Like I said, I'm not always happy, but when I am, it's a result of these seven things. So go forth and live your life - and enjoy the shit out of it!

xoxo,
Clare