Taking things in your life for granted is something people don't notice these days. They are used to living a healthy lifestyle, and having family and friends supply them with everything they need. However, many of us don't realize the struggles everyday people experience trying to get the same amount of things we have. In spirit of that, here are 5 ways to stop taking things in your life for granted.
1. Be thankful.
I can't even describe how many people just don't care about what they have. Children will cry because they didn't get their favorite toy for Christmas; they will soon realize later in life to be thankful. In my opinion, people in this generation are only thankful when they need to be like at Thanksgiving, or some other holiday. How incredibly sad is that? Our own millennial generation can't give thanks to the people around us. We need others to teach some random acts of kindness because they go a long way. Overall, be thankful. Just say thank you, and you'll be glad you did.
2. Live in the present.
Please don't live in the past. Where does that get you? Dwelling on something that has happened before is a constant negative quality of this generation. Something will happen at school, or work, and it will bring you back to something that happened years ago and now you can't forget it right? You know what I'm talking about. We've all been there. The point is, instead of dwelling in the past and bringing yourself down about a mistake you might have made years ago; make time to live in the present. If you're upset with something you've done before, change it! Make a better you. Live in the now, and don't go back.
3. Forgive.
And that brings me here to my next point. Forgiveness. Why do we take forgiveness for granted? Especially in your teenage years. It's ridiculous how many fights that potential friends, and best friends have only to have it be something that you could probably laugh at. Instead, we take all forgiveness for granted, and shoot our friendships down. If you have your best friend over, and you find out she used your hair dryer without asking, yes it's your property and she should have said something, but are you really just going to kick her to the curb because of that? NO! That's stupid, and you should forgive her. Don't ruin a friendship so easily because you didn't have the guts to say something. Now if she stole money from you continuously then that's a different story. Then you should put her in the doghouse for life. Honestly though, we take forgiveness way too seriously.
4. Make memories.
This one is funny to me. Taking memories for granted? Seriously people? Now wait a minute. I'm not talking about a day at the beach with your friends. I'm talking about family memories. If you're meeting up with your grandparents, and your grandfather wants to take you out to lunch, you should go! Duh! First of all, they love you and they won't be around for too much longer to say that. Make memories with those who love you because some people can't experience that love. You should never brush your parents off when they want to spend quality time together because you cant guarantee they'll be there tomorrow. Make the most of the time you have with the people who love you, and never take that time for granted.
5. Be yourself.
I can't emphasize this one more. Just be who you are. Don't let others tell you that you can't be yourself, but don't take yourself for granted either. What I mean by this is don't spend every day wishing you were someone else. You may admire another individual in this lifetime whether it be a supermodel, writer, or actor but you shouldn't want to be that person; because at the end of the day when you begin to age, and cant fend for yourself, you're not going to be thinking about what you weren't in this lifetime. You'll be thinking of all your accomplishments, and the people you will love and miss. You'll be thinking about that one time you wanted to conquer your fear, and a friend or family member helped you. Overall, you will remember the laughs YOU shared as an individual, and that's what's important. Stay true to yourself always.