Posted on 24th June, 2021
It's a common practice for people to find fulfillment in material things like money or luxury.
While it does offer some comfort, true happiness is found within and through enforced healthy practices.
I'm primarily referring to practicing gratitude and actively engaging in a healthier outlook on life.
We need to consciously shift from negative thinking patterns
and replace them with simple practices and gestures that might not feel like much at the moment but will reshape how we view ourselves and others.
Don't worry if you can't immediately pinpoint what you're grateful for. To ease into this practice, you can feel grateful for being alive, for the warm weather outside, the roof over your head, or anything else that comes to mind. It doesn't have to be a huge accomplishment or event.
With every acknowledgment, you will start to see more things to be grateful for, and in time you won't have to remember to do it because it becomes second nature. Practicing gratitude will become a habit, like brushing your teeth.
Without realizing it, surrounding ourselves with toxic people becomes a habit in itself, one that's tough to break. Most of the time, we don't realize how harmful they are because of their familiarity and because we're not actively paying attention to their behavior toward us.
This can become a source of stress, unhappiness, and unfulfillment until you decide that you deserve better company. But if you do have a handful of people who genuinely care about your wellbeing, keep them close and get rid of those who poison your mind and soul.
You may be gently nodding your head and feel a tad guilty about that skill or talent you have that's been sitting at the back of your mind for the longest time. You may have also been reminding yourself that you need to pick it up again, but you haven't for reasons that I'm sure are valid to you.
They say that there's no better time than the present, and from personal experience, I believe it to be true. Channeling your energy into artistic crafts might be one of the best happy habits you can develop for yourself and your mind. Art making has been shown to reduce stress levels and induce positive mental states. So, pick up your abandoned hobby and try to make it a habit even if it's not a daily activity as long as it's consistent.
Finally, rediscovering yourself through the pursuit of engaging in happy habits is the best habit of all. Be kind to yourself and remind yourself that it's also OK to have bad days, too, as long as you understand that you're not alone and by the grace of God, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.