Life is so fast paced and very few of us come up for air and ask ourselves this important question. Do I like the way I have designed my life? Do I spend the majority of my time doing activities that nourish me and make me feel fulfilled?
From my professional experience, I can say that most people don’t ask themselves this question nearly often enough.
They slouch into my office couch and tell me how busy their lives are but how utterly empty and miserable they feel…why??? Because they haven’t given their lives a recent ‘health-check’. We are all so busy meeting deadlines, paying bills, indulging in retail therapy and living day to day that we end up avoiding taking stock of what’s most important.
I know from personal and professional experience that external rewards such as cars, houses, designer goods and so on have a limit to the amount of satisfaction they can provide. Once the thrill of the new purchase has subsided, we are left with the same melancholy we began with.
Most of us live lives that are “outside-in”, we hope that external sources will fix us internally – WRONG!
This is a crucial piece of advice – living a life that is “inside-out” is where it’s at. Engage with others, show kindess and give back to others in some way. Forget who is better than who or who has the bigger house – it’s all nonsense. Bonding and connecting with others and experiences are what make us happy.
Self-acceptance
Self-acceptance goes a long way to improving our relationships with others. When we have less hang ups about ourselves, our barriers go down and we can connect with others more easily.
So, work on the self love and acceptance and see other people as inherently good. Reach out to others and see how the rewards come back to you. Take stock of your life – fix what doesn’t work. Don’t let fear of change or failure stop you..your life is not a dress rehearsal
Mandy X
More on Mandy: https://www.mandyjane-lifedesign.com
All names have been changed to protect the identity of clients. Personal client stories shared in this blog have been published with prior permission from the relevant clients.
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
