Those of you who know me well know that I write a LOT about how gratitude is a brilliant way to get out of your stress-head and back into living from your heart. But I was challenged by a friend this week to sum it all up in a single sentence – so here it is!

There is so much wisdom tied up in these four simple words.

Let’s start with the word ‘Enjoy’: I’m curious – what kind of response does that invoke for you?

For some of us, the idea of ‘enjoying’ ourselves is second nature.

For others, it’s far from being part of our daily existence.

Do you give yourself permission to enjoy your experience of life? Or have you convinced yourself that life is meant to be hard work? Perhaps ‘enjoying’ comes at some unspecified ‘later’ point? That there’s no room for ‘enjoying’ or even ‘joy’ in your hectic schedule?

Can you imagine how different your life would become if you suspended that old conditioning and gave yourself loving permission to enjoy this moment, right here, right now? As you’re reading this article:

• allow yourself to enjoy the experience of breathing – you might like to pause and say to yourself, in your mind, “I enjoy breathing in and calming my body… I enjoy breathing out and letting go.”

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• press pause on the commentary about any aches and pains and allow yourself to be fully in your body, enjoying its presence, whatever stories you normally tell yourself about it

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• allow yourself to gently smile (triggering endorphins – your body’s natural happy chemicals) – enjoy the feeling as those hormones kick in

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• give yourself permission to fully enjoy whatever it is you are set to do today, even if it would usually fall under your ‘have to’ list

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Enjoying – appreciating – feeling grateful or thankful for – it’s all about reconnecting with your heart – in this moment.

What happens, as you let yourself enjoy? And… if it feels hard for you… what might NOT happen, if you let yourself enjoy? (Let me know via the comments!)

And if you’re running the ‘life has to be hard’ limiting belief, here’s an article that can get you started on shifting that one in the next five minutes: How to handle limiting beliefs
And if the phrase ‘have to’ runs the show in your inner dialogue, here’s an article that will help you to set yourself free to enjoy your day.

Now let’s move on to the word ‘little’: and here’s a trap that most of us fall into:

Most of us hold out for the ‘big stuff’ and hand our happiness over to events outside of our control.

You can spot this one if your inner dialogue ever comes up with phrases like:

I’ll feel happy, when….
 
It’ll all be ok, when…
 
I’ll be able to relax, when…

Spotting a theme?

We’re so fixated on some big event or thing that’s outside of us and at some point in the future, that it’s like we postpone our happiness and inner peace to some unspecified future date.
If you spent just one minute a day focussing on noticing the little (or even tiny) bits of your life that are going well, you could transform your experience of life, in just a few weeks.

No matter how many years you have been stuck waiting for the big stuff to come in, before you allow yourself to enjoy feeling happy, you can start to retrain your brain, one minute at a time.

And it’s not that the big stuff isn’t important – of course it is – but the small stuff is already there, patiently waiting for you to appreciate it and to lift your spirits, right now. If this one resonates for you, then you might love joining in with our Great Gratitude Challenge – it gives you all the ‘how to’ you need on this one!

And finally, we’re onto ‘things’: and here I have a word of warning for you!

The word ‘things’… It’s so easy to fall into the ‘things-trap’.

This one is where we think that ‘things’ – objects and ‘stuff’ – will lead to our happiness. We can even make the collection of ‘things’ our primary goal in life, without even realising it.

And yes, ‘things’ do have an important role to play in our lives. But they’re only the beginning of the richness of our experience.

The English language is seriously limited on this one. I’m dreaming of finding a word that means ‘things’, but that also includes ‘non-things’ – like:

• the kindness of a fellow driver who lets you out of that tricky junction

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• the colours of the sky when your early start means you get to see the sunrise

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• the unexpected heart-felt smile from the checkout assistant as you buy your morning coffee

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• Your favourite song unexpectedly playing on the radio on your way home

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• Somebody doing you a favour, without being asked – and maybe you don’t even know who they are?

You’re getting what I’m saying here?

Life is about so much more than ‘things’ – it’s about everything that makes up our experience.

So my invitation to you with this one is to enjoy the little ‘things’ that come to you during your day – whether they’re stuff you can touch and hold or see or hear or taste or smell. They all add to the richness of life. And choosing to enjoy them is a miracle-worker.

I’m wondering: has any of this resonated for you? Were you falling into the ‘enjoy’ or ‘things’ traps? How might it shift your day if you were to choose to “Enjoy the little things” – even for just the next 5 minutes?
And – if you play with this – what do you notice?
Please let me know, via the comments!

And if your heart is calling you to discover how even just a minute of gratitude each day could change your life, here’s where you can join us (free!) on the Great Gratitude Challenge. I’d love to see you there.

With love, Namaste,