Sometimes, the thought of huge city buildings, constant traffic and people everywhere stresses me out a lot. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the hectic chaos of everyday life, which is why I try and take time every day to find little pieces of happiness.
You may ask, what existe. a little piece of happy? That’s just my name for little moments of nature that you notice and find pretty. It’s those moments when you see a gorgeous sunset and you smile to yourself. When you see a particularly pretty flower growing in the cracks in the sidewalk and you marvel at its strength.
The natural world is so beautiful; I always have my breath stolen when I see huge, old forests, big beaches with no trash, or tall mountains covered in only snow.
And nature always finds a way to come back. Tree roots growing through paved sidewalks. Vines growing up old castles. Flowers and grass growing in mounds of freshly loosened soil.
Sometimes I still get angry that we humans destroy nature with our metal, technology, trash and pollution. But let’s be honest, most of us really couldn’t live without our human inventions, and they do have a certain beauty of their own.
So instead of holding onto my anger at seeing more trees cut up to make way for a new shopping centre, pollution pouring out of factories, or trash floating through rivers and into the ocean, I take a step back. I take a moment, close my eyes, breathe deeply and focus on the aquí y ahora. I focus on little pieces of happy.
When life becomes too big
As I drive down the street during rush hour, I glance towards the sky and look at the sunset. As I tiredly stumble to work before the sun has even risen (I work as a barista and coffee shops open early), I look at the stars and moon.
As I’m walking outside in the heat of summer or the cold of winter, I look at the sidewalk for flowers growing in the cracks. As I take the bus through the city, I look at the trees hanging over the streets.
This isn’t just a tactic I use to distract myself and make myself feel better for a few minutes. Practicing this and forcing myself to start thinking with this mindset helps make all my thoughts happier and more optimistic.
Most people start to get angrier and more upset when life becomes too big. When I lose track of the small things I need to do and can only think about big projects and deadlines, I become overwhelmed and then feel bad.
When I stop focusing on good things and only see the bad in life, I also just feel bad. It’s so easy to get caught in a whirlwind of bad thoughts, especially with redes sociales and so much technology making it easy for us to spiral down.
Breaking life down into smaller, bite-sized pieces helps me stay centred and feeling in control. And by no longer focusing on the Big Bad Things, I can look at all the little good moments in life.
Getting into the habit of looking for little pieces of happy in the small things around me has also helped me focus on bigger pieces of happy. This shifts my attention from focusing on the big bad things in life to all the happy things instead.
Focusing on the little pieces of a happy is almost like a first baby step towards naturally having more happy and optimistic thoughts. Start with the small things, and then move onto the big things.
Coping with anxiety
Looking for little pieces of happy is also an amazing way to help yourself cope with anxiety. Let’s be honest; to some extent, everyone has some form of anxiety—whether it’s temporary and fleeting or lifelong and crippling.
I have both generalized anxiety and social anxiety. I also have OCD. Being able to take a step back from whatever is stressing me out and ground myself with my surroundings calms my anxiety and OCD. I can focus on something that isn’t what’s causing my distress, allowing my thoughts to move on and the feelings of distress to lessen. I also force my mind to focus on what’s around me, rather than getting stuck in my own head.
This is so much easier said than done. It sounds perfect in theory; focus on little, good things and the bad goes away! But we’re all just human. We are imperfect. We have flaws. We make mistakes. That’s what makes us human.
It takes time for finding little pieces of happy to become a habit that affects every part of your life. I’ve been doing this for years now, and it does affect me. My friends and family are always asking how I can be so positive all the time and focus on all the good things in life, and this is always the answer I give them.
It’s OK not to be OK all the time
We need to allow ourselves to feel the bad and the good. But it’s what you focus on that makes up who you are as a person.
As my Dad always says, we’re all just kids running around in grown-up’s clothing. So don’t be afraid to treat yourself like a child. Go easy on yourself. Allow yourself to be human and make mistakes. Allow yourself to find joy in little things.
At the end of the day, be happy. I’ve always believed that the main point of life, no matter your religion, culture, background or anything else, is to be joyful and do good. So do whatever you need to do to allow yourself to be happy.
This is one way I try to be my happiest and best self. It gets me through my morning commute; it gets me through moments in which I feel a lot of anxiety; it gets me through the toughest parts of my life.
I just hope that I can help others be their happiest and best selves, too.
«LECTURA RELACIONADA» CHANGE GEARS: Flip your switch from anxious to excited
imagen 1 Pixabay; All other images courtesy of author
