Hey there, it’s Lance with a quick new year’s message for you. There’s no getting around the fact that 2020 was a pretty rough year. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. We just want to leave it all behind. Or do we? There are two things that I do on a daily basis that I wanted to share, because I think that it might be able to help you out: gratitude and meaning.
Gratitude. Your brain can only occupy one thought at a time. So when you think about the things that you do have you starve your attention away from thoughts about the things that you don’t have. This isn’t the “glass half full” way of looking at the world through rose colored glasses. It is an actual way to look at the things that you have and appreciate them. With appreciation, you can have at least a little moment of calm.
Meaning. Finding meaning in things. See, nihilism is for grouches. I like to find meaning all things. This isn’t to say that terrible things don’t happen. They do happen. But finding meaning in things gives value to the terrible experiences that we have. It’s those terrible situations that can be some of our most valuable learning lessons.
Take, for example, one of our most valued resources, which is time. The quarantining deprived us of so many things. We couldn’t go to places that we wanted to be, spend time with people that we wanted to be with, or do anything that we really enjoy.
However, the quarantine did provide us with one thing: time. By not attending all the functions that you used to, or commuting in your car like you used to do, we’ve been given back time to spend with our families, spend with your hobbies, or learning new skills.
So yes, we definitely did lose some things by having to be sequestered at home, but we got back a ton of time. It’s gratitude and meaning that help contribute massive amounts of the enjoyment that I get out of life.
It works for me and I hope it works for you too. I wish you happy New Year and here’s to a much, much, better year ahead.