You hear that a lot: ”Never take life for granted!” but what does it even mean and how to actually live a life that’s appreciative and filled with gratitude?
These are 10 things you can do to inspire yourself to live a mindful, easier life, full of love and hope.
Use your time wisely, it’s limited
“Never take today for granted, tomorrow might never come.” ― Matt Vella
Do not take life for granted. Don’t waste your days. Whatever it is that you think you should do, do it today.
“You can’t achieve that much in a day,” you must be thinking but that’s not true. You can tell your loved ones how much you care about them.
You can move at least one step closer to achieving your dreams and goals. You can be kinder to other human beings.
You can make yourself proud of the person you are today and not make excuses for all the things you do that you know you shouldn’t be doing.
Remind yourself to be grateful for what you have
“When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” ― Gilbert K. Chesterton
Every day is a blessing. Good health is a blessing. A roof over your head is a blessing. The food you eat today is a blessing.
Life as you know it, no matter how difficult it seems to you at one point, can be taken away from you in just one second.
You could easily never again get the chance to see your family or close friends, to tell them you love them, to spend time with them and do whatever it is that you guys do (even if sometimes those very things annoy you).
Be grateful for whatever you have, because I can assure you, so many people out there have so much less and are still happy. Don’t take your life for granted.
Live a mindful life, appreciate the beauty of the world
“The more often we see the things around us – even the beautiful and wonderful things – the more they become invisible to us. That is why we often take for granted the beauty of this world: the flowers, the trees, the birds, the clouds – even those we love. Because we see things so often, we see them less and less.” ― Joseph B. Wirthlin
It’s in human nature to stop noticing the things we see every day, no matter how beautiful they are.
We are shocked and taken aback by the beauty of things we see for the first time but when we see that same something every day, we no longer notice how beautiful it is.
Try to remember how the things in your surroundings, in the world, in nature, made you feel in the first place. Don’t take life for granted.
By the time we’re adults, we’re already used to everything around us and we no longer appreciate its beauty.
Try to look at this world with the eyes of a child. Try to think about everything around you and try to appreciate it for what it is.
Little things should make you happy
“When something does not insist on being noticed, when we aren’t grabbed by the collar or struck on the skull by a presence or an event, we take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” ― Cynthia Ozick
You should concentrate on figuring out what the biggest things are in your life, what the things are that make you happy every day, the ones you no longer notice while you’re waiting for a big thing to happen.
For me, it’s my family. I’m ashamed to say I take their well-being, health and presence for granted from time to time but I always manage to find my way back to being appreciative of their existence.
What is it that makes the most of your life? Appreciate it. Never take life for granted.
Tragedy can happen at any moment
“We take life for granted, sleepwalking until a shattering event knocks us awake. Zen says, don’t wait until the car accident, the cancer diagnosis, or the death of a loved one to get your priorities straight. Do it now.” ― Philip Toshio Sudo
We expect our elderly members of the family to develop health issues and eventually die but we never think that the coffee we had today with our best friend might be the last time we get to see them, right?
Things happen all the time, you never know who you can lose or when.
Only one dreadful phone call stands between us and the horrific information that something happened to someone we love. Keep that in mind.
Inspire your own faith
“How quickly we forget God’s great deliverances in our lives. How easily we take for granted the miracles he performed in our past.” ― David Wilkerson
Find your inner peace by thinking about religion, about the way this world was created and where it all leads us. Try to live your best life in the name of God and your own faith.
Be happy just to be alive, it’s a miracle
“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.” ― Emily Dickinson
Yes, there’s a lot of happiness and excitement in the simple things, you just have to recognize it.
Do you have that one person who makes you feel so grateful to have them in your life? You’re just so happy that they’re alive and there?
Think that way about your own life. Be happy to be alive, well and right there where you are. Treat your life as if everything is a miracle.
Think hard about everything you have and take for granted
“It’s not a bad idea to occasionally spend a little time thinking about things you take for granted. Plain everyday things.” ― Evan Davis
It’s good for you to think about everything you have and all the wrong ways you’re treating the things you have or the people you know. This helps you learn to never take life for granted.
Do you spend plenty of time just sitting around doing nothing important? Use that time to think about what you could do differently.
Maybe you should step up your self-care game or maybe there are people in your life you’re not spending time with when you should. Find a way to get yourself to appreciate all the things you take for granted before they are gone.
The universe has a plan for you, appreciate it
“Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn’t. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted.” ― Mitch Albom
Stuff happens to you that makes you think your life will never be the way you want it to be. We’ve all been there. Trust fate, the universe and God to get you where you need to be.
Everything happens for a reason; it’s up to you to think hard about what it is that you really, really want and the universe will give it to you.
Enjoy where you are right now and don’t waste your days feeling sorry for yourself.
Do everything you can to live a life with few regrets
“Appreciate what you have, while you have it, or you’ll learn what it meant to you after you lose it.” ― Frank Sonnenberg
All this can be gone in a second. Love your life, even the stupid things.
Enjoy it while it lasts and appreciate everything that you have, so you don’t get to find out how it feels when you lose something you never even tried to be grateful for.
