Tag: appreciate

Enjoy the Journey

Life is too unpredictable to focus on an end goal. We tend to focus on what we want to accomplish rather than what we are learning every day. The above picture was taken on an average day where we just needed to get out of the house. It’s just the same trail by our place that we’ve walked on many times before, but this is one of few pictures where we are both genuinely smiling instead of posing. My boyfriend was being an idiot and making me laugh as usual, which is something I make sure to appreciate every day.

We might not always feel like we have what we want or that life isn’t quite “perfect” yet, but I guarantee when I look back at this picture I will remember how good life actually was. Even looking at it while writing this post makes me calm down and realize how awesome it is that I get to be myself around someone who loves me every single day, and how the good days are actually really good! Here is what I have learned that helps me enjoy the journey.

Humans are meant to learn

I hope you don’t think that as soon as you have that job you’ve always wanted, or the big house you’ve been striving for, that you’ll suddenly stop needing to learn and grow. There will always be things to stress you out, or unpredictable situations and you will always be working towards something. If you think about where you are now, can you think of any failures or struggles that you’ve learned from? YES. Of course you can! You’ve learned from it and are now living with more knowledge than you had before and growing from it.

Think about what’s important

Ideally I would say, “look back on your life as if you were 100 years old, what do you remember?” but I’m assuming there’s not a lot of 100 year olds reading this post. So when you think back on your life as it is so far at whatever age you are, what do you remember most? It’s likely that you mostly remember memories that gave you emotions whether it’s positive or negative rather than items you bought or things you had. The positive memories bring you joy, and the negative memories gave you lessons. That’s why you need to remind yourself about what’s actually important in life – the experiences rather than what you have.

Appreciate where you are now

The best way to remember to enjoy the journey is to truly appreciate where you are right now, because you are currently living the journey. What are your current struggles? What are you learning from it? What are you working on right now to achieve your goals? What are you grateful for? Are you acknowledging every small accomplishment? I think that answering these questions helps keep you grounded and to remember that the amazing life you want depends on what you’re doing today, and not what you might have in the future.

Don’t wait to live a great life, make the life you’re living great by taking a step back and enjoying the process. We are meant to struggle, learn and grow over and over again until the day we die.

Travel Like a Child

Growing up, my parents took us on a trip out of the country about once a year. For this post, I want to compare a trip to Mexico as a child to my most recent trip to Mexico only a few months ago. It wasn’t until this past trip that I started thinking deeply about how different my mind worked as a child, and how annoying it is to be an adult!

When I think back to what I paid attention to as a child, it was so positive and innocent. I remember being so excited to wake up early in the morning to go to the airport, and how cool it was to have a surprise meal on the plane. When I got off the plane, there was a gust of humid, tropical smelling air and that’s when I knew I was officially in Mexico.

It didn’t matter what the resort looked like, as long as there was a beach and a pool to play in. My brother and I would have so much fun in the pool, I don’t even remember what exactly we would be doing – I just remember it being fun. We would play in the waves in the ocean, and help my dad build some sort of sand castle. My mom and I would have fun looking at different souvenirs and jewelry and would try to leave Mexico with something matching.

The food was delicious and I liked saying “Hola!” to every staff member in the resort. I remember being fascinated with the entertainment staff, and loved watching the evening shows. I had no sense of time, didn’t know where I was in the world, and didn’t seem to have negative thoughts about anything.

There are certain things in adulthood that are beneficial to have during travel such as knowledge of the destination and the safety required during the trip, but a lot of things are unnecessary. What I noticed on this past trip is that I was aware of the money I spent and the value of what we were paying for. I struggled to wake up early and immediately felt more nervous than excited for the airport because I was thinking about all of the things that could go wrong. We didn’t get a complimentary meal on the flight and we didn’t want to spend the money to purchase a meal.

The airport in Mexico was chaos and filled with people trying to rip you off, or say that their shuttle was cheaper than the company we were supposed to go with. On the way to the resort I noticed labour workers walking down the highway and wondered how they make a living and what they might be struggling with. I was still excited to see the resort, but immediately started planning and organizing.

I was thinking about when we should eat, finding out when the evening shows were, what excursions to do and when, and was just overall concerned about making the most out of our trip. When we went into town, I noticed people trying to sell drugs and wondered how the economy worked (since every store sells basically the same thing) and I was overwhelmed about what I wanted to buy and where. I was thinking about applying sunscreen enough and making sure we wouldn’t miss the bus back to the resort. At the resort I had a hard time relaxing and wanted to make sure I did everything that I remember being fun as a child. There were still lots of laughs and fun times on this trip, but I just wanted to point out how different it was compared to when I was a child.

Now that I have been stuck at home in quarantine, I’m starting to realize how unimportant most things I worry about are. I can’t believe how uptight I was on my trip to Mexico, perhaps it was because I only had one week and I hadn’t been out of the country in four years… but it’s also because I didn’t take a step back to appreciate where I was and to just enjoy the moment.

I remember learning at a mindfulness seminar that one method to live in the present was to think like a child. In this case once I entered my room in the resort, rather than thinking about what we need to accomplish during the trip, I could have switched over to noticing the cute little shampoos at the sink and the balcony overlooking the palm trees. Of course this is easier said than done, but I think with some practice travelling could be a lot more enjoyable. Notice the things you are stressing about, take a deep breathe, and find your inner child.