3 ways to evaluate your daily routine
I often meet people who have trouble sitting still. When they are not working, they are doing other projects. When the plans are done, they dive into other projects and plans. Their go-go-go attitude is what keeps them always busy. And, boy, do they enjoy being busy. Their work gives them a sense of accomplishment. Every goal that is fulfilled makes them feel complete and capable. They know very well that their lifestyle is hectic but it gives them joy. However, every once in awhile, they feel a bit lonely and sad. They have forgotten to ask themselves: What else gives me joy? Being less self-aware, it seems they cannot reevaluate their daily routine and find more ways to bring other things into their lives more regularly.
“We all have to do what gives us joy, whether it’s picking grapes or putting in a washing machine.”
E.B. White, 1899-1985, American author
Prioritizing the things you enjoy seems easy. If you love something, you choose to do it more often, right? However, this does not seem to be the case. How many of us, for example, would say that we prioritize what gives us joy? Probably very few of us. Trapped in an automatic and somewhat prefabricated lifestyle, the never ending cycle of performance and solid results, we forget to look for what else gives us joy.
In this article I will share with you three ways so that you can prioritize what gives you joy. Specifically, you will learn how not to be influenced by preconceived notions of happiness and create your own.
- What fills you with joy and gives meaning to your life?
There are some things that are universal for a happy life, such as relationships and the sense of belonging. But all too often we are deceived into following preconceived notions of joy by believing wrong beliefs about what is meaningful in life. Learning how to define joy and meaning for ourselves is not easy, but it is necessary to feel happy.
When was the last time you tried to find out what makes you happy? Surely our interests may be indifferent to others or irritate them, they may even make fun of us. But the things that bring us joy and give us meaning are also the things that rejuvenate us. It’s what fills us with energy in life. So instead of listening to others, we should have the courage to listen to ourselves and strive to do what gives us joy and meaning. Name three things/activities that rejuvenate you. Which ones will you include in your daily routine? Do not accept excuses! Do them not matter what others say to you!
- What does success look like for you?
A very important part of our personal history includes our successes. However, we often associate happiness with things like money, work, social recognition. Shouldn’t we have success standards?
Erasing all success standards, is not the right answer. Instead, what we need to answer is how we define success. It is really difficult to set our own standards of success, especially when we are heavily influenced by societal pressure and cultural narratives (see influencers, social media, family pressure, advertising, etc.).
But each of us is different. Our criteria need to be realistic and based on what we consider realistic and purposeful. We need to be self-aware. We need to ask ourselves about the standards of success. Name three standards of success. How will you understand that you are following them? Which of these three standards is ?
- What is your perception of happiness?
While it is very easy for us to admit that happiness is understood differently by each of us, however somewhere we get lost trying to find it. The reason is that we do not know exactly what we are looking for or adopt standards of happiness to achieve it (see toxic positivity). So how do we determine what happiness means to us? We will first need to identify the patterns of happiness that affect us and see how useful they are to us. Then it is necessary to learn things about ourselves, that is, to recognize our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. This knowledge will give us the necessary information to create our definition of happiness. But let us not forget that happiness is a process and not a situation. Happiness comes from the satisfaction, balance and fullness we feel in the way we live. Name three standards of happiness that are not yours? What do you replace them with?
Conclusion
These three questions will help you evaluate your daily life and ask yourself how effectively you prioritize what gives you joy. Becoming more self-aware helps us find what gives us joy and meaning in life and find the courage to pursue it. To be happy, we need to be aware of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
PS: If you need help discovering your inner potential, discovering who you are, your purpose in life and what principles and values guide you, my signature self-awareness 1: 1 coaching program was created for you to help you finally feel whole and grateful in your life.
Do you know what other coaching services I offer? You can browse them here.
And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for the latest news and articles and follow me on Facebook and Instagram to leave a comment or ask a question.
Photo credit: Nick Fewings on Unsplash