3 Things to Stop Doing to Live a Happier Life
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Our ultimate goal in life is to feel happy, to feel fulfilled, right? But I think sometimes we go about finding happiness in the wrong way, or we do things that cause us to work against ourselves when trying to be that happier person or live that happier, more fulfilled life. That's why in today's episode, I want to share three things that you need to stop doing now if you want to live a happier, more fulfilled life.
Here’s a recap of the three things that you need to start doing in order to live a happier life:
Stop letting your life be a giant to-do list.
Stop dreading things.
Stop thinking happiness is a destination.
If you love this episode, you will also love…
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey there beautiful human, you're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. A podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode I issue a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real, let's get it, let's go.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Embrace Your Real podcast. Our ultimate goal in life is to feel happy, right? To feel fulfilled. But I think sometimes we go about finding happiness in the wrong way, or we do things that cause us to work against ourselves when trying to be that happier person or live that happier, more fulfilled life. That's why in today's episode, I want to share three things that you need to stop doing now if you want to live a happier, more fulfilled life.
But before we dive into today's episode, I have to share this super-sweet review. It comes from Sammi Dale. She says, "So thankful for you. Julie deserves all the success and every good thing that comes to her. Not only does she have a love for fitness and helping others to be their best self, she also knows God is where we draw our strength from. God never wastes a hurt. I'm so thankful that Julie went through all the challenges she did so that she could end up here helping so many others. I signed up for her honor your body challenge and the amount of work and detail that she put into this challenge is incredible. I cannot wait to begin the workouts and try the recipes. Thank you so much for showing up as your real self for so many people across all platforms."
Thank you so much, Sammi, for the review. If you haven't already rated and reviewed the podcast, in case you didn't know, Apple podcast app is free on all Apple devices. So if you don't already have it downloaded on your device right now, you can go to the app store, download Apple podcasts, and you can click in the search bar, type in Embrace Your Real, make sure you're subscribed so that you never miss an episode and you can scroll all the way down and you'll be able to actually rate and review the podcast.
If this podcast has helped you in any way, I just ask that you take less than 30 seconds to rate and review it. It really does help us out in the podcast world and on the charts and I appreciate you so, so much. All right, let's dive into the three things that you need to stop doing right now to live a happier, more fulfilled life. Number one, stop letting your life be a giant to do list. I'm serious. And this is honestly, I'm speaking to myself, but our lives should not be an endless to do list. But let's be real, most of the time it is. We push our greatest goals, aspirations and happiness to the side because we have other things that we need to get done today. So we'll say, oh, we'll do it tomorrow, or we'll do it the next day. And then that next day comes and yet again, we have things that we "need to check off first on our to do list instead."
The thing about our to do list is that you'll never check everything off the list, there will always be more to be done. If you always put your to-do list first, you'll never reach your goals, chase your aspirations or experience your truest happiness because you'll actually never find the time to do any of it. Our lives need to be a balance between what we need to get done and what we want to get done. Regardless of how much is expected of us from others, for others we need to prioritize our own stuff. Because believe it or not, our lives are meant for us to actually live it, not just work so hard so other people can live their best lives.
Number two, stop dreading things. You have to stop dreading the things that you do. Do you dread doing your workout or do you dread the work week ahead of you? Do you dread the errands that you have to run or all the cleaning that you have to do? When we are sitting there dreading something, we're focusing on the future as opposed to focusing on the moment that we're living right now. And that right now is not fair to the life that we're living, is it? We can't predict how things are going to go in the future. Yet we still waste our time and energy thinking about it. Sure we can remind ourselves of something that we need to do, but we don't need to think about how awful it will be. If you think about it, why do we even do this in the first place? Why do we set ourselves up for a bad day or a bad week when we actually have no idea what the outcome will even be?
It's our perception and mental labeling that makes something bad. So when we shift our perception of what we're doing, we actually shift the experience we have while we're doing that thing. For example, if we remove the thought this week is going to be terrible, we will no longer experience the terribleness of the week. So instead of dreading the week ahead of you or dreading the workout you're going to do after work, just live in the present, focus on the moment that you're living right this very moment and let tomorrow happen tomorrow and let everything that comes with it happen when it happens. Don't waste your time or your energy focusing on it right now. Whatever you're dreading, release the dread. Don't think about what your experience will be while doing it until you're actually experiencing it. And when tomorrow comes, let it be whatever it is. Don't label it as good or bad, just do what you have to do and get done with it.
That's it. And before you know it, it will be done and not nearly as painful. And one thing also to note on this is that it's really important that you are aware in the moment of what you're doing and asking yourself, is this truly bringing me joy? Because of course there's things in our lives that maybe we're doing that maybe we're not supposed to be doing, maybe we're not meant to do those things. Maybe in one season of our life we were called to do that or we felt really strongly about this, but in this season that we're currently in, maybe we're not as passionate or maybe it's not something that we really feel strongly to do. So let yourself be okay with letting things go as well.
If you truly dread it and you're living in the present and you're finding out that it's not bringing you true joy, aka, this could be your job, this could be your profession. This could be the workout or something that you're doing, the way that you're moving your body that you thought this is what you need to be doing. But maybe in this season of your life, it should be something else. Let yourself feel those feelings and be okay with letting it go. But it's so, so key that you live in the present moment and be aware of everything that you're feeling as you're doing it. Number three, stop thinking of happiness as a destination. We love to think I will be happy when. I will be happy when I get this job. I will be happy when I make more money or buy that house or get engaged or when I lose weight. When, when, when. It just goes on and on and on. But the unfortunate truth about life is that there's no point of arrival when it comes to happiness.
You'll never find that place in your lifetime where you can say, "Ah, I'm here. I can be happy now." Which means if you prevent yourself from being happy along the way, along the journey, you'll never truly experience what it actually looks like and feels like to be happy. So how can you let go of the notion that happiness is there and instead find happiness here? One thing that helps me is always looking at my day to day life through fresh eyes. It's easy to fall into the mundane tasks and habits of our everyday life and live our life on autopilot. So how can we start to look at our life right now just how it is through a new perspective, a new lens? Can you look at where you live and find something beautiful in that place that may feel stagnant to you? Can you find the passion and enthusiasm in something that you've done a million times?
You have to start looking at your life like it's the first time you've ever seen it. Look at it through the eyes of a child. And I believe that that's why God in the Bible says we are to have childlike faith. Because think of the things that children do when they see something. Even their first time at the zoo, or maybe it's their hundredth time at the zoo, but they're always so excited. They're always so pumped to be there. No matter the adversity that you may be facing, the struggles you are working to overcome and the solutions you're looking for, you can still be happy right now and you should be happy right now. Happiness doesn't have any prerequisites. Happiness is not a destination. It's something that you can actually experience right now, but you have to make the conscious choice to look at your life through a fresh perspective, through a new lens.
Okay, so let me recap those three things that you need to start doing in order to live a happier life. Number one, stop letting your life be a giant to-do list. Number two, stop dreading things. Asking yourself in the moment, if you are being present and you're still dreading it, is this something that I need to release? And if not, maybe it's just that you need to have a fresh perspective. And number three, stop thinking happiness is a destination. If you love this episode, you will also love episode 44 on the podcast. I will link that in the show notes below. But maybe you're not happy with your body or your relationships or your career. Most of us are living very fortunate lives in comparison to the rest of this world, yet we still find ourselves unhappy. So in this episode, I actually explore the reason behind unhappiness and I share a simple practice that we can do to successfully break free.
It's a practice that I do daily, and it has taken me out of my deepest funks and has brought me to my happiest days. I also discuss how happiness should never be conditional. And if it is, you will chase happiness for the rest of your life. So if you're lacking happiness, if you're lacking peace or contentment in your life, this episode is for you. Be sure to tune in to episode 44. That is all that I have for today's episode. I want you to live a joyful life. I want you to live a full life. I want you to live a life that feels like you have purpose and excitement. So do the things that you need to do to ensure that you are living that life through the eyes of a child, having childlike faith, looking at it like it's the first time you've ever done it.
I want you to bring wonder back to your life. I want you to bring pure joy and giddiness back to your day. I love you so much. If you have somebody in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this episode, I just ask that you share it out. Whatever streaming platform you are using right now to tune into this podcast, likely you'll be able to see three dots on the screen. You can click that and you'll be able to copy the link. You can send it to them in a text message. You can post it up on your Facebook or your Instagram. I would love for you to screenshot this and tag me, Julie Ledbetter and Embrace Real account. We love seeing your aha moments. We love putting faces and names to our listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in and I'll talk to you guys in the next episode.
All right sister, that's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so, Julie A Ledbetter. Yes, it's with an A in the middle, for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.