About a year or so ago I was talking to a new friend of mine and doing everything I could to keep the conversation going. Our rather boring texting progressed to a relatively shallow game of 20 questions that ended in one of the best conversations I'd ever had. During the game, I asked my friend what his favorite "small things" were. He asked what that meant and to be honest I wasn't even sure myself.
We ended up talking about the small things in our lives that meant the most. Some of my favorite small things consisted of driving down a back road at dusk, eating popcorn, building forts, singing at the top of my lungs and so many other things. My friend got a kick out of the question and after thinking for a while, provided some small things as well. One of the most important small things to him was something as simple as the feeling he gets sitting in a driver's seat. After having this conversation I became substantially more aware of the small things every day that make me the happiest.
My friend and I discovered an entirely new aspect of each other and are now closer than ever but more than anything, I learned a tremendous amount about my myself. To this day, I try to think about one thing every day that I would consider a "small thing". On some days, finding a small thing to be thankful for is a lot harder than others but those are the days that I find myself growing the most.
Especially around the holidays, we spend time with family and friends that seem to be the most ungrateful people in the world. I personally tell myself over and over again that there is no way I come across as that ungrateful but the more I self-reflect the more I realize how possible that may be. After coming to this frightening realization, I decided to take less than one minute every night and make note of my favorite small thing of the day. Usually, this thing costs nothing, requires no additional effort and requires zero sacrifices of any form but regardless this small thing made a huge impact on my day.
Life seems to move faster and faster every single day and it can be nearly impossible to take even a moment off to focus on the aspects of your day that had the most impact. What is oftentimes overlooked is the importance of slowing down. Whether you choose to write down the small things that made your day great, journal or even say bedtime prayers showing yourself gratitude is just as important as showing gratitude to others. Being selfish and choosing to take time to take care of yourself are completely different things. Appreciating the small things will make you feel like a whole new person and who knows, you may even get a new best friend out of it.