The typical nature of all personal development blog posts is to define a problem, then propose a solution.
I’m not going to do that here.
We spend a lot of times trying to improve things in our lives. We want better, more, faster, bigger, cooler, and on and on. So is there a time when more is not the answer? Is there a time when solving something wrong with your life is detrimental, because you could be spending that time enjoying all the right things about it?
I could say something really obvious like, be content with what you have, or accept yourself for who you are.
I’m not going to do that here.
Instead I want to ask you:
Do you think you could bypass a lot of struggle trying to fix all the things supposedly wrong with your life, and instead learn how to appreciate the things that are right with it?
I’d like to take this chance to tag a few other bloggers on this meme:
- Alaia Williams
- Charlie Gilkey
- Alex Blackwell
- Vered
- Peter Clemens
- Tim Brownson
- Donald Latumahina
- Andrew Galasetti
- Luciano Passuello
- Mary Jaksch
- Kimberlee Ferrell
- Zeo Westhof
- Peter
- Bengt
- Chris Bradley
- Parth
- Monica Ricci
(If you want to be tagged, let me know and I’ll give you some google juice.)
So let me ask you: What’s right with your life?
Hey Jonathan,
I’m glad to be a part of this.
The one major thing that is right with my life and I don’t want to change is my family.
We can’t choose who our family members are but I feel very blessed to have the family I do. We have our problems and tough times but I they can’t trump the great and fun times we have.
There’s plenty of other things that I don’t want to change but this is the biggest.
Thanks for asking!
-Andrew
I’m in. :)
Might take me a few days to get it published.
Thanks for the link love!
This is an interesting idea, and I think it’s true that some happiness can be found in accepting your current situation and appreciating what you have. However, every time I read or here something along these lines, like the stop caring post, I have to wonder where you draw the line. I mean, couldn’t I learn to accept and appreciate my life as a stoner living in my grandmothers basement and working at Mcdonalds? I guess I don’t know how to reconcile being happy with where you are and still making and reaching for goals. Anyone else notice this?
Thanks,
Nate
There are a lot of good things to celebrate. I’m looking forward to sharing my post next week! Thanks Jonathan for setting this up.
Alex
It’s funny, I was just thinking about this. Especially in my job, I spend so much time constantly trying to be better, doing more, and wouldn’t it be great if for just one moment it would be okay to be the way we are? Life isn’t like that though… so I’m trying to learn to be okay with both things at once. I guess that’s not really what you’re saying, but it made me think about it :)
There are alot of things right with my life, but you’re right, I need to stop and appreciate them whenever I can.
My new business venture.
My stable career.
My wonderful family.
My tight inner circle of friends.
I could go on all night…
You know I just did an exercise like this in my personal journal. I’ve recently quit my job to run my website full time. I’m taking a huge pay cutt and freak out occasionally. When I made the list of everything good in my life, I found the only thing not good is lack of income I want.
some of the things i listed:
Doing what I love
Girlfriend i love
awesome friends
Free time
Frequent vacations
close family
I could go on…
I recommend this exercsie to anyone who is feeling badly about their life. I think you’ll find you have much more to be happy about then you think.
I love my life! It’s full of love, and fun, and laughter, and tears, and struggles, and warm spring days, and rainy evenings, and purring cats. I feel blessed because I have a partner I love and whose company I enjoy, a son with whom I have a close relationship, close friends of all ages whom I love. I feel blessed because I do what I’m passionate about.
I love the fact that I”m squeezing every drop of juice out of this life! It’s so tender and precious…
Nice idea Jonathan. To put it simply, I have my health and that is all that matters
Thanks!
Enhancing the positives rather than focusing on the negatives may also be a way to look at it. What a great idea, I’ll get my thinking cap on for a post as it’s a way of thinking I often try myself.
Great work,
Chris
What is right?
I am doing what makes me wake up every day and smile – even when times are tough I struggle and come out the end of the day knowing that I followed what morals and processes I put into place.
I am going to marry a wonderful woman who believes in me and is dedicated to making my dreams and goals actualized.
I have a woonderful puppy who takes me for walks and let me know that when I am working too much that we need to take a break.
Choices are the path to being right.
Excellent idea, Jonathan. It’ll take me a few days, but I’m on board.
What is right in my life is trying to make other peoples lives better.
With everything I do nothing can be done, it is very right.
I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I agree – I think that if we celebrate our lives instead of focus on our “faults” then many of those “faults” will diminish in size and importance.
It’s important to be aware of them, but not dwell on them and too often as Personal Development bloggers we focus on what’s wrong rather than what’s right.
Well said!
Cheers,
Alex
PS Your notify via email option is missing the tickbox.
I’d like to respond to Nate: It’s not about “not caring” but about not investing yourself in anything that doesn’t help you. If you look at Grandma’s basement and the McDonald’s job in the best light (hey, I’ve a safe place and a job) and then let that ease the fears, you’re able to focus on hope, faith and confidence in your goals, all the while living according to your moral standards. This way, you’re focusing on all positive things rather than letting negatives corrupt your state of mind. There’s really no “line”, just a shift in thinking. It took me many years and hard knocks to realize this, but it works. ;)
Hi Jonathan,
Thank you so much for the tagging! Time constraints won’t allow me to write a full post on this, but let me share something here.
Oh, there are so many things that are right with my life. In fact, right now I honestly can’t think of anything that’s wrong with my life. Honest! :)
The only moments I find there’s something wrong, I end up concluding that it was only my perception of it that was wrong in the first place. Call it delusion if you like, but when I find something’s wrong in my life, I try hard to actively find a ‘flaw’ in that perception. And I usually succeed.
Thanks for this great topic!
Jonthan, it’s a good idea and I’m in agreement with you. So my response is possible, probably, maybe ;-)
I’m struggling to make time to post much at the moment and I have my next couple lined up so let me see what I can do.
I’ll need a helluva long post though cuz I love my life as I’m sure most of us here do. That’s love our own lives, I didn’t mean that you all love mine, that would be very weird and a little disturbing too.
I can MOVE (see my latest blog for further explanation, if
you want). Jonathan, found you via Slade!
This is so funny. Posting tomorrow is a post just on this. It is 30 things that make me happy. It is all about looking at your life for what makes you happy instead of dwelling on the things you do not like, you can’t stand or the people that drive you insane. :)
One of the things that is certainly right in my life is having the drive and passion to live and accomplish my dreams! Those dreams change and so must the things I do. Personally development and self improvement are one avenue to ensure I’m capable of this. So in that case I’m not looking at what is wrong at all, but instead what it takes to expand the things that are right and make the most of them. I think if you believe you are fixing what is broken when it comes to personal development, you are approaching it from the wrong perspective in the first place.
To me, its all how you look at things and looking from the perspective you suggest as what’s right, is just a way to build more of that into your life. That’s what personal development is for in my eyes.
Thanks guys for all your comments, you are truly awesome.
What’s going right in my life?
I strive each day to be authentic and live by my values.
I am creating each day, whether it be with writing or music.
I have the most beautiful, wonderful wife in the world. I’m so in love with her it’s sickening. =)
Jonathon, I will blog this as well, but I do want to thank you for the tag, and say that asking and noticing what’s RIGHT is so much more powerful than asking what’s wrong. I often do this with my clients, because in the midst of their disorganization, they often lose sight of how much in their life is going well, and something is ALWAYS going well. What a killer topic!
~Monica
What’s right with my life? Dude – so much. I get to piss fart around all day at home on the internet and call it work. I never have to commute. I live in a temperate rainforest mountain paradise. My wife is beautiful, my daughter is too. Even my dog just had a bath so he doesn’t suck too bad right now either :-)
I could go on. There is so much to be grateful for in life. Viva!
Wow I love this questions. Often we allow ourselves to be dragged down by those around us who are always looking for what is wrong.
My life is so right, right now and for so many reasons, the main ones being:
1) My Fabulous family and friends
2) My first book has just been published.
3) I AM ALIVE!!!! need I say more
4) I have choices…..
Have a fantastic day.
Cheers
Wendy
Hey Jonathan!
I think that one of the best things that’s going right in my life is my decision to quit my job at Wal-Mart to pursue my own online business. My family was skeptical about this, but after I talked with them about it, I think they’re a little more positive about it now.
TheAndySan
https://www.theandysan.com
Thanks for tagging me, Jonathan! I’ve posted my response… Once I started actually making the list, I realized there was too much to say.
@Julie – You make a really good distinction. In my post, I wrote about how it’s important to understand that appreciation doesn’t have to lead to complacency… though I think it’s often easy to make that faulty connection.
Wow, what a thought-provoking meme!
Here’s a short thought:
In the same way that the strengthsfinder books talk about focusing on your strengths instead of your weaknesses as far as gifts and skill development, we should focus on the strengths of our life situation and invest and play to our advantage what’s right in our life instead of focusing all our psyche and efforts on what’s wrong.
Be blessed,
John
What’s right with my life???
Hmmmm. Well, for one thing I’m sitting at home doing something I love.
– I can see my cousin anytime I want since he just transferred to NYU (30 min. away)
– I have discovered a way I can workout without spending 2 hours in the gym everyday
– My dad just bought me a new car, a brand new leased Nissan Altima. I no longer have to worry about being stranded in the middle of the high way
– I’m training two guys who are really pushing and motivating me with my own personal fitness
– I just came back from an interview from a staffing agency and they’ve taken my resume to a whole different level
There’s a lot more…now that I think about it.
Thanks for tagging me, Jonathan! For the question “what’s right with your life?”, honestly I think there are many things right with my life :)
I’m so grateful with what I have. Often times I find myself to be in the right place at the right time. I guess that’s what “lucky” is.
I’ve also learned to be grateful in difficult situations. I always think that difficult situations are there to teach me precious lessons in life. All in all, I love my life!
Things are good because I’ve got a blog that’s growing, a company that’s on the right track and people who are supportive and considerate of me in what I’m trying to accomplish.
Hi!
My post is up on my blog. https://freedomwriting.wordpress.com/2008/10/05/meme-whats-right-with-your-life/
I am so glad to see that so many people have great things going on in their lives.
Kimberlee
Woohoo! Finally got my post up: https://oneorganizedlife.wordpress.com/2008/10/25/i-love-what-i-do/
few years ago ,I was struggling to get more of this and more of that,…After,times ,I found that we can’t get always “more” things because wealth ,health ,power is divided and goes for the right one,even not right.Knowing this fact,I started to believe and accept myself as I’m ,and all what I own as what I has to be owned,this way I’m feeling satisfied.
over two thousands years ago a man called Buddha said that the real richness is to understand that you do not have to possess things to be happy. more you have more you desire. we’ll be happy when we’ll stop to desire more and more…!
Excellent idea, Jonathan. It’ll take me a few days, but I’m on board.
Thank’s for this idea
I too liked your blog
just to love other beings: that’s what we need to be happy! thanks for that nice way of thinking ang writing
ty for this post
nice template, thanks for this blog
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I was interested in your template!
Smart this article
This is so funny. Posting tomorrow is a post just on this. It is 30 things that make me happy. It is all about looking at your life for what makes you happy instead of dwelling on the things you do not like, you can’t stand or the people that drive you insane. :)
excellent idea Johnatan, This is so funny.
Sebastien
Excellent idea Johnatan ! This is so funny.
Sebastien
nice blog, thanks for sharing >> add to my RSS list ;)
13 last poste are spam ! blog is not maintained anymore ?