December 15, 2024

Learning To Enjoy Life Is A Skill

While it may be true that some people are born with a greater capacity for optimism and happiness than others, the fact remains that human beings are hardwired for misery! Seeing the cup as half empty is part of our human survival mechanism.

Scientific studies show that being anxious and unhappy are part and parcel of the body’s stress response, the fear, flight, fight response that keeps you alert to danger and ready to stay alive at any cost.

This served us very well thousands of years ago when we were out in the bush, hunting and gathering. The sound of a rustle of leaves could be interpreted as a possible predator coming to eat us up, so we would instantly be on high alert, vigilant and tense, adrenaline running through our system preparing us to quite literally fight or flight.

Nowadays however, this primal stress response can cause more trouble than good. You may encounter many “perceived” threats throughout your days, but they do not really threaten your existence. If you allow these negative reactions to perceived threats to overrun you, you can easily spiral down into depression or anxiety and end up in a rut of unhappiness.

There is some good news though: You can actually train yourself to be happier and to have more fun! You can learn how to enjoy life more fully. You do not have to stay trapped in the mindset of negative thinking. You can easily practice the skills that will bring you to a place of greater happiness.

One of the simplest, and yet most transformative practices is that of the art of gratitude. The more you practice being grateful for what you have in your life, the more you start to feel grateful; when you feel grateful, your body starts producing happiness hormones, which lead to greater joy and, over time, a real experience of genuine happiness.

Try keeping a gratitude journal. At the end of every day, spend a few minutes writing down 10 things that happened that day that you are truly grateful for. As you write, tap into the feeling or gratitude by reflecting on how those 10 things made you feel (e.g., excited, pleasantly surprised, etc.). This daily habit will encourage your brain to start building new neural pathways which could be called your “happiness highways.”

These new mental routes get more “carved out” the more you practice sending your train of thought along their direction. It does take time and dedication, but with regular, daily training, your mind will start to make changes, and you will start to feel those changes as an improvement in your mood. It is a discipline which is well worth the effort.

You will start to reap the rewards, as you start to realize how abundant your life already is: After all, if you own a refrigerator then you are among the top 10% of the richest people in the whole world. How cool is that (forgive the pun!).

As you become more adept at experiencing deep feelings of gratitude on a daily basis, you will notice yourself becoming more content, more satisfied, and more at peace.

You will breathe deeper and sleep easier, both of which will contribute to your now upward spiral of positive emotions, as all these things serve to turn off the stress response and improve your mood and your overall level of well-being.

Practicing gratitude also brings you into greater awareness of the present moment as your worrisome thoughts of the past or future, and your focus on what is missing in your life subside.

Learning to enjoy life is a skill called GRATITUDE.

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If you liked this content, check out my Substack Newsletter piece entitled, "Evidence-Based Practices for a Fulfilling Life" at: https://theunreliablemind.substack.com/p/evidence-based-practices-for-a-fulfilling