The Breathing Prosperity blog

In all our talk about the pursuit of wealth, dedication to excellence and personal growth, we may not mention as often as we should those ‘soft’ skills in lfe that make everything worthwhile.

Perhaps because I personally learned the ‘stop and smell the roses’ lesson many years ago when my little brother died, I sometimes forget that many people have yet to learn it. I certainly hope that you don’t ever have to learn to enjoy the small pleasures in life by losing someone dear to you…in fact, as self-aware creatures we can choose to take our cues from those who have experienced tragedy and not have to go through such things personally.

Some small but powerful tips you may integrate into your life for big results follow:

• Know yourself. Take some time to determine what truly makes you happy. You may be surprised to find it is little things, such as the sound of children laughing or a certain color.
• When exploring your unique tastes, look at all your senses…what visuals, colors, sounds, or surroundings make you happy? What about smells, memories or experiences?
• When you have a list of your own personal ‘happy’ triggers, you can then make a conscious effort to incorporate them into your life. For example, if you find that walking in a forest brings you larger perspective and peace of mind, then schedule such walks with intention. If the sound of waterfalls soothes you, then invest in an audio that you can listen to while working or before sleep.
• Surround yourself with things you love. Many people focus so much on having their homes or offices clean and presentable for others, that they forget that THEY are the key players and the ones whose happiness needs to be nurtured. A desk with pictures of loved ones and pictures of places you would love to go to, or have been and which stir happy memories, can be very different form a cold, antiseptic environment. Look around at your living spaces and make them your own.

With effort, you can fill your day with little pleasures that will make your daily life significantly more enjoyable and leave you feeling better all day. After all, it’s the daily moments that make up life, not the bigger picture.

If you don’t put forth the effort to make your life happy and peaceful, who will?…A happy, balanced self is a more productive and effective self. Enjoy!