how to fall in love with your own life

To fall in love with being alive isn’t to seek out the externalities that we think will make us fullfilled; it’s to learn to be content with our various, everyday experiences.

For years, I found myself caught in the viscious cycle of wishing for changes within my own life. Winter would come and for three months I’d yearn for Summer, during the school year I’d look forward to June and graduation day, and I constantly wondered when things would be “better” in my skewed reality of what “better” really meant.

It was only when I took my life one day at a time and appreciated everything I DID have — and the PROCESS of achieving what I wanted in my future — that I truly started to love being alive.

So here’s how to do it:

1) Before going to bed, write down one thing that you’ll plan on doing the next day that makes you happy or excited. This made is so much easier for me to get up early in the morning.

2) Wake up and make your bed/organize your room. A clean space and getting off on the right foot is so important when you first get up.

3) Learn to be content alone. I started loving MYSELF so much more when I had sufficient time with my own thoughts. I love going to coffee shops downtown with a cute outfit and working on projects or writing in my journal.

4) Romanticize small things. This is probably the biggest one. Go for a walk and learn to love the way the trees and sky look. Go to a local beach or lake and swim in the water — even if it’s by yourself. Read books and find pieces of yourself in the characters. Write poems or books of your own, go for hikes, etc.

5) Treat your body well. I noticed that I feel so much better when I’m eating fully and well. When I’m cooking my own meals and ensuring that what I’m eating is making ME feel good, my mindset and perspective undergoes such noticeable changes.

6) Move your body. I cannot stress this enough — your body NEEDS to move. Wether it be a walk, a run or lifting weights, moving your body in any way releases so many endorphins.

7) Tell people you love them. One of the most important things we are fortunate enough to experience is connections with others, and oftentimes, we feel sad or down because we’re lacking this in some area of our lives. Tell your family and friends you love them. Smile at strangers and tell people you love their hair or outfits or their energy. I swear that when you make a conscious effort to be kind and loving, it always comes back around.