The Grass is Always Greener…
Last week in Southern California many of us were anxiously awaiting summer and then we were beat over the head with a muggy heat wave!!! The point being is that too often it is hard to be satisfied in the moment. We plan for the future and yet can get stuck living in the past.
Growing up it was looking to the bench marks like 16-then I can drive, 18-vote, 21-drink, done with school, marriage, etc. As we age we reflect back on the best and worst of those times and long for the days before we needed hair dye and Advil.
“I will be happy when…” We need to plan for the future in order to make good decisions and be able to care for ourselves and family. The ability to think of the possibilities and to work toward a goal is invaluable-to dream and create your life as you chose it to be. We even listen to the dreams of others that can give us ideas. Future is where we are going and how we are going to get there.
And, of course, we build on past experience. So, if we are having a difficult time we might want to go back to a period of our life that wasn’t so difficult. Try to glean something for current use like a coping mechanism.
Summer arrived with a vengeance and I am now wishing it was cooler (for my husband and the dogs) and that it had the same meaning… no school (work), swimming, the beach and staying up and sleeping in!
We can get stuck letting our past experience define us and often limit us. We try something once and maybe the surrounding circumstances were not right and we never try it again. We are unwilling
Here are some tips:
- Spend a good portion of the your day in the moment and appreciate the experience.
- Find the positive- reflect on the good(past) or potential good(future).
- Remember nothing lasts forever and things/life is good or bad by comparison.
- Accept the things you cannot control.
- Learn to like all shades of green.
We can learn from Kermit-