You do not have to spend a lot of time on this practice, and life will soon change for the better.
We are accustomed to believing that changing our lives means doing something big, deciding to make drastic changes. That we will be happier when we move to another country. Or in marriage, or after the birth of a child. Or at a steep takeoff on a career path.
But taking such a big step is not always easy. And there are no guarantees that it will make us happy either. So, in most cases, a feeling of frustration and dissatisfaction is guaranteed to us.
Most likely, the secret of happiness is to take small steps. Sooner or later, their totality will lead to the desired qualitative changes. But in order to understand what kind of change we need, it is important to learn to ask ourselves the right questions.
Question 1: How satisfied are you with your life today? Rate pabout a scale from 1 to 10
Try not to overthink your answer. Don’t make lists of everything you’re happy with or dissatisfied with. Just memorize the score that comes to mind first.
If your answer is 10, congratulations, you’re done. You are completely satisfied with your life (but it still does not hurt to do this exercise from time to time).
If you “scored” 9 points or less, go to the next part.
Question 2. Add 1 to the number from the first answer.then it will be different in your life if you find yourself so pleased with it?
For example, in the first question you answered “6”. Then ask yourself: “And if I answer 7, what exactly will be different in my life?”
Formulations are extremely important. By asking ourselves what will be different (not “would” or “could have been”), we tune our brains to the fact that “mission is possible”, and small daily steps will lead us to the desired result. Your answer about what would be different might be: I can do a short workout, call a friend, walk for 20 minutes after work.
Ask yourself every night before going to bed. This is important: research shows that while we sleep, new neural connections are formed in our brain, which will pave the way for global changes. Most likely, after a few months or even weeks, you will notice the result.
Why is it worth adding only one point, and not striving immediately to the top bar and getting into the top ten? Because it’s achievable. If you strive to immediately “turn the mountain”, the task may seem too overwhelming. And there will be a temptation to postpone the implementation of the plan until better times.
The great thing about these two questions is that they help improve lives. Understand what we are missing. But at the same time, the steps necessary for these changes do not look like a “commitment”, work or an overwhelming burden.
Turn such a nightly dialogue with yourself into a habit – and very soon you will be able to notice that you value your life by more points. Or, over time, you may start hitting more and more strikes with little to no effort.