What do you love about your life?

In this month of Valentine’s day, how about treating yourself by thinking about what you love in your life?

We can spend so much time focusing on what we think is wrong with our life, or us, or other people, that we lose track of the good stuff that is going on. So a quick way to boost your mood, your capacity and your appreciation for life is to spend a few minutes looking at things the other way round and focusing on what you love (or at least like or value) about your life, yourself, and the other people in it (including those you find difficult!).

Perhaps think about different aspects of your life and come up with three great things about them. Maybe your home; family; friends; career; leisure; where you live; your work colleagues; yourself. You could do this all in one go, or take a different aspect a day/a week/whatever works for you.

When you find something that you love, ask yourself if is there anything you could do to make this even better? Building on the good stuff and our strengths can often take us far. Or think how you could remind yourself of the good stuff, for the times when you realise you need to.

Even if something is really challenging us, it can be helpful to look for what could be positive about the situation. What is the opportunity here? What does this make possible? What could I learn from this and how could that help me or others? What support have I got that could help me?

We can all so easily get lost in the weeds of day-to-day life and lose sight of what is really important or take what we have for granted. I remember reading about a mother of a young baby who fell seriously ill and had to be taken to hospital for some time, while her baby remained at home. She described how she used to really hate and resent having to change her baby’s nappies when she was well. In hospital, she so wished she could be back at home, able to look after her baby and change those nappies.

So why not give thinking about what you love in your life a go and see what impact it has. If you like the impact, try it out in some form on a daily basis. That way it will become a habitual way of thinking. Then whatever is going on in your life, you will think to check out the upsides, and give yourself a boost in the process, and probably those around you too.

Do get in touch if you would like some support, encouragement and help with creating a life you love. Feel free to call me on 07708 034395 or to email me at julia@juliabutler.co.uk. I offer an initial no-obligation, no-cost discovery session.