We all have goals and ambitions we want to cross off of our bucket list, but happiness doesn’t just come from groundbreaking, life-changing events. As the School of Life explains, it’s important to focus on small pleasures as we work toward greater goals.
Getting the promotion or job of your dreams is awesome, but there’s something to be said for minor pleasures, too, like soaking in a bath, having a great conversation with a friend or looking at old photos. The School of Life puts it this way:
…these sort of activities may be among the most moving and satisfying we can have…there is no point in chasing the future until and unless we are better at being more attuned to the modest moments and things that are presently or readily available to us. More fundamentally, the smallness of small pleasures isn’t really an assessment of how much they have to offer us: it is a reflection of how many good things the world unfairly neglects.
It’s only natural to place a higher level of importance on pleasures that are rare, once-in-a-lifetime events. They’re challenging, scarce or expensive, so we think they must be better. But small pleasures can be just as enjoyable, and there’s a case to be made for learning to enjoy them:
Appreciating small pleasures means trusting our own responses a little more. We can’t wait for everything that is lovely and charming to be approved by others before we allow ourselves to be enchanted. We need to follow the muted signals of our own brains and allow that we are onto something important, even though others may not yet be in agreement.
The School of Life offers additional insight on this topic. Check out the video above or head to the link below.
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