Do you know the hamster wheel? For these cute pets it’s a fantastic game: they could run for hours spinning on the wheel without ever going anywhere. But what if we ourselves haven’t been running on a metaphorical hamster wheel for our entire lives?
Most of us live a life imposed by society with days marked by monotonous routines. Of course, or routines are a very important tool that allows us to be more productive, but when the last 5 years have passed all the same almost without even realizing it, then it’s the signal that something is wrong and that your life has become a simple race on the wheel: wake up, work, passive relaxation in front of the TV, sleep and start again.
If you are not sure if you are in this situation, try to answer these simple questions: when was the last time you did something that brought you joy? Does your job give you satisfaction or it’s just a means of paying the bills? When you get up in the morning are you excited to start a new day or do you feel miserable? Do you sometimes seem to live like in autopilot?
But how do you finally get off this hamster wheel and start living the life of your dreams? By following these simple steps:
1. Take back control of your life
Only you are responsible for your life, so stop complaining or blaming others and start acting! Think about what are the things that bring excitement into your life, what your values are and start living a life aligned with them. If you don’t like your job you are the only one who can make the decision to change things
2. Practice gratitude
Sometimes we feel miserable in our lives but we lose sight of how lucky we really are. Start keeping a gratitude journal and write at least 5 things you are grateful for in your life every day, even on days when there seems to be nothing to be thankful for. In reality our life is full of blessings and remembering it helps to keep us positive and keep the high vibrations that will allow us to attract the life that we want.
3. Collect small moments of joy
In this age where productivity is everything, why don’t we try to slow down and do something just for fun? Try to cultivate your hobbies, maybe paint, dance, listen to your favorite songs. Try to dedicate time only to the things you like and want to do, instead of what we must do.
4. Cultivate meaningful relationships with other people
One of the keys of happiness is connecting with others. Cultivate meaningful relationships with people you love and inspire you. When we run on the hamster wheel we often forget about others and we enter a bubble where only we and our duties exist. Creating deep relationships, on the other hand, can help us put everything into perspective and receive different points of view
5. Don’t jump from one wheel to another
We often fall into the trap of running away from a situation and going to get into a similar one if not worse. For example, we change job and then find a similar one, but only with different colleagues and a different environment. Before making a significant change, remember what your values are and act only based on your deepest desires
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