Enjoy the little things has been a life motto of mine for some time now.

A few years ago, before The Beauty of Life came into being, I did an Instagram challenge, encouraging anyone and everyone to capture one moment each day for 30 days celebrating the little things that we sometimes overlook in our hectic lives.

And it’s time to do it again.

 

[line]

Why it’s important to enjoy the little things

 

You know the quote, right?

[pullquote width=”300″ float=”center”]Enjoy the little things for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things.– Robert Brault[/pullquote]And I believe this to be true. Just as tiny drops of water make up an ocean, it is the tiny moments in your day that make up a life filled with joy.

Imagine if you spent more time acknowledging these and less time taking on the little annoyances, how much happier you could be.

 

What happens when we stop and take notice

We live in a hectic world, where busyness takes pride of place on our mantle of success. I don’t know who started this or why we measure our contribution to life this way, but I’m calling it out.

It’s ridiculous.

And it’s time to slow down. Breathe better. Eat better. Sleep better. Look after ourselves better. And take a look around because, when we do, we realise that this life we have is pretty spectacular.

But, we’re often so busy rushing around to work or our next appointment or trying to keep up with our friends on social media that we lose sight of the bigger picture.

Life is beautiful. Notice it.

 

The art of gratitude

When you take the time to enjoy the little things, what you’re really doing is adopting a practice of gratitude. Just like brushing your teeth daily, moving your body, and calling your mum, gratitude is something that is so important to life.

Do you ever find yourself around someone who whinges about how shit their life is all the time? Always focusing on the negative, so much so that they can’t even see the good stuff any more (or worse, they find a way to make that negative too)?

There’s a very well known and powerful saying that what you focus on expands.

If you can be grateful for even the smallest things, if you can find joy in the most fleeting of moments and find a way to see beauty in life as often as possible, do you think that you will notice it more? That it will expand and, automatically, the negatives will become less prominent?

You betcha!

Get grateful, friend, and see your life light up.

 

Some tips to get you started

Not sure where to start, have I got some tips for you:

+ Pay attention to what makes you smile and be fully present in that moment – is it a little kid being completely adorable? A dog running around the park? A shared joke with your barista?

+ Learn to listen to your heart – it might sound woo woo, but you’ll know. That lightness in your heart tells you that you’re onto something but you have to really pay attention to it. For me, it’s when I talk to a friend I love dearly, fall into fits of giggles with my man, listen to beautiful music, or stand in the sun for a few minutes.

+ Take it all in – our brains can make us crazy and sometimes it’s hard to embrace the moment when we’re thinking of a million things. Take out your headphones when you walk down the street, look around and take it all in, breathe in and out and just absorb your surroundings.

+ Meditate – I know, I’ve been banging on about meditation lately, but the more you practise stillness and presence, the better you will get at it in your every day life! Try a minute a day and work your way up to it.

+ Do the 30 day challenge – If you want to really get intentional about how you enjoy the little things, get into my Instagram challenge and commit to seeking out those blissful moments each day.

 

The 30 day Instagram challenge

So, you want in?

There are no rules, there are no prompts, there are so many awesome challenges floating around that give great prompts but I want you to be free to enjoy the little things that pop up in your every day life.

:: Follow me @miss_kms

:: Tag #enjoythelittlethings and #thebeautyoflife

:: Get your friends to get involved as well by sharing the Instagram post or tag them in your challenge photos and start a beautiful habit of enjoying more of your life each and every day.

THE PRIZE: One person who manages to post a photo every day from April 1 – April 30 will be selected to win prize pack from me featuring some of my favourite things.

 

So, are you going to get involved? Or do you have another way to enjoy the little things (share in the comments below, I’d love to hear it!)

 

[ninja-inline id=717]

 

P.S An Instagram challenge might seem as though it’s going against my recent thoughts on social media but I want to encourage people to use this to get MORE out of being online and be intentional about it!