Valuing the things that matter to us

      Having a positive outlook in life is a result of having a positive view of ourselves. This positive self image is the reason why we become happy. A happy person is someone who he feels good about himself, his accomplishments and his relationships with other people. Yet sometimes, we tend to overlook the reasons for our happiness. We occasionally take for granted the things that keep us cheerful and positive.

        What are the things that make us happy right now? For us to know the answer to this, we could try imagining what it would be like for certain things, activities or people to suddenly vanish from our lives.  Would their disappearance cause us to be sad? If the answer is yes, then we now know what is valuable to us.

        So, what is it we value presently? The things we value could include one’s physical fitness, family, job, grades, partner, close friends, hobbies, service to others, pets, spirituality and so forth. When we have identified the things that are important to us, we should include them in our priorities. And since they are priorities, we need to find time for the things we value so that we could nurture them. We should do this because they all contribute to the level of happiness we possess.

        Otherwise, if we fail to appreciate the important things in our lives, we may wake up one day having lost one of them and find ourselves with one less reason to be happy. In conclusion, we should always be grateful for, appreciate and nurture the significant people and worthwhile endeavors that keep us happy.