Looking for Happiness

Kayyyy "Quick" Therapy Sesh:
I think I live my life in disillusionment- caught somewhere in-between reality and expectations... kind of like:


*How does this make you feel?* 
Erm, well let me try to explain:
  • I imagine scenarios in my head.  They usually are happy and perfect and entirely unrealistic; however, when the situation occurs any differently, I find myself disappointed.   
  • I set my expectations too high, meaning I set myself up for failure.  I am extremely hard on myself.  Recently, this has become problematic when I expect myself to be the perfect wife.  At the end of the day I feel like I should only go to bed when the house is clean, the laundry is folded, a good meal is in my husband's belly, lunches are made for the coming day, homework is completed and I fit in a good workout.  So, maybe those aren't significant things...but my reality is that sometimes I am so exhausted from the day that I come home make a quick meal, forget to do my homework, leave the dishes in the sink, and sulk to bed with hardly enough energy to walk there.  Then I lay in bed and mentally beat myself up over all the things I didn't accomplish.  I know, I'm completely crazy!
According to my standards, I had a really successful day yesterday; however, when I went to bed I lay there still feeling a sense of disappointment... WHY?

As I thought through my "failures" I recalled a quote from President Uchtdorf: 
"Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light. It comes from placing our attention and efforts on the basics of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It comes from paying attention to the divine things that matter most."
 So, for 21 years of my life I have been missing the point.  Good gracious, it's about time I have this realization!

Enough with the "should,"  That word is one sure way to tear apart any person's confidence.  At the end of the day it does not matter if I made it to the gym or not.  It does not matter if I save the dishes for another day.  I have been placing so much emphasis on all these meaningless tasks that in the grand scheme of things do not matter.  It is time I start giving myself credit for all the things I do accomplish.

One more quote- one of my favorites.  It is hanging in my house to remind me to live in the *real* present vs. my fantasy world of ridiculous expectations.


There you have it.  The keys to happiness.

<33 Amanda

Comments

  1. SarahJanuary 17, 2014 at 2:10 PM

    Love it! I think we all need this reminder from time to time. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

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