Moving From a Good Life to a Great One
One of the surprisingly difficult paths on the journey is learning to love your life when you are reasonably successful and content. You have a good job, good marriage, good kids, good friends, an adequate amount of money, and a good house in a good community. It's all good. Yet, there is an inner void. A sense that there should be more. A feeling that something is missing. This is a good thing. It is the desire to move from good to great, from liking your life to loving it. Here are some tricks to getting there.
Slow down. A good life with a good job, good family, good friends, and suitable activities is, by definition, busy, often super busy. That gnawing desire to find something more is in the form of less. Taking the time to appreciate life, breathe a little, meditate, and experience quiet are often the missing elements.
Find a Spiritual Life. The reality is that we are not simply a physical body caught up in life's routines. We are also spiritual beings, and that spirit needs to be engaged and nurtured. Finding a spiritual practice that works for you is going to be crucial if life is going to move from good to great. There is a lot of debate out there about exactly what spirituality is. I'll stay out of that debate for now and say two things. First, trial and error is a suitable method. Try various spiritual practices and prayer rituals until you find what works for you. Secondly, don't stress over it. God already likes you. Of course, God loves you, but God also likes you. That puts you most of the way down the path already. Relax and enjoy the exploration of finding your spiritual connection.
Bring a sense of passion to all you do. It's all about attitude. We often reach pretty darn good by achieving everything expected of us. If we follow the stereotype, we finish school, start a career, get married, have kids, and buy a house, as everyone expected. Your path may look different, but the point still stands. We pursue what we set as our life goals and start clicking them off. The problem is that it's easy to fall into a constant routine and forget to bring a sense of passion, adventure, and joy to what we do.
Help somebody. This may sound odd. Part of finding a more fulfilling life is to focus on something besides ourselves. You can build a good life by making it all about you. A great life requires giving back. Find a way of helping someone. Make the world a better place, or at least your little corner of it. This may be as simple as donating money, but it will probably take more. Directly helping someone in a hands-on manner has much more of an impact. There is no shortage of needs. Find someone in need and help.
An important note on this topic. Work through organizations. Going into the streets to help random people can be dangerous. This is particularly true if you have no experience in the matter. Yet, in any given community, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of churches, charities, and helpful organizations. Find one doing good work and help out.
Learn to tell your own story. Sometimes moving from a good life to a great one is learning to appreciate the things happening every day. Pay attention to the funny things that happen. Appreciate the moment when things go right. Talk about the good things that happen. For some people, journaling is a method of focusing on your journey. Maybe talking about your day with your family over dinner instead of simply saying your day was "fine." At social gatherings, open up about the interesting things that take place. It doesn't mean you have to dominate the conversation. It means carrying your share with your stories. As you see people enjoying your experiences and humorous anecdotes you will learn to appreciate your life more.
Laughter is a miracle drug. Laughter is good for your mood, your physical health, and your relationships. It just might make your life a lot better. Sometimes in the midst of a pretty darn good life, we forget to be silly enough to laugh. Among life's challenges, it can feel like we are juggling everything simultaneously to get through the day. It doesn't make life terrible but it can keep it from feeling great. Laughter can be the tiny miracle you need, and here is a trick. You don't have to find something funny. It helps, but it's not necessary. You can develop a practice of laughter without the search for humorous material. To put it simply, fake it. To laugh voluntarily has many of the same effects as laughing spontaneously at something amusing. Your brain doesn't draw a strong distinction. It may feel weird initially, but develop the habit and see what happens. Take a brief moment and make yourself laugh.
All of these practices are relatively simple and easy to achieve. You don't even have to do all of them. Pick a few and see what happens. Moving from good to great is more about style, technique, and focus. Try it and see what happens.