Personal, Sarah's Tips

December 21, 2016

4 steps to happiness | Sarah’s Tips | Idaho Wedding Photographer | Sarah Tapp Photography

A few weeks ago, I watched the movie, ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ and, oh my goodness, that movie gets to me EVERY time. I was bawling like a baby. But it’s because the message that it shares is so touching and beautiful (And it doesn’t help that I’m pregnant). So, if you haven’t seen it, go watch it right now! And keep a box of tissues by your side.
The movie is a story of a man who’s in a low paying sales job and decides he wants to do more with his life. However, he has a little son to take care of and no income. He takes a 6 month un-paid internship with 30 or so other people and after it’s over, only 1 person gets the job. It shows the struggles he went through to try and just provide food and a place to sleep for him and his son. Throughout the movie, he talks about happiness not just being handed to us, but it being something that we have to pursue. Something we have to work towards.
And I believe this whole heartedly. I feel like I’m a pretty happy person. I’m generally positive, but I’m defiantly a realist. There are always times that it’s hard to be happy. Which is why I started thinking about how we can be happy. For most people, it’s not something that comes naturally. There’s a lot of crap in this world. And a lot of things that tear us down and keep us from being happy. But, we can fix that! If we CHOOSE to be happy! So, here are 4 things that can help us in our pursuit of happyness. =)
#1 ~ See the Good ~
When my husband and I got married, I wanted to make sure that I did everything I could to make our relationship last. Anyone who’s married knows that it’s not easy and it’s something you have to constantly work at. So, I decided that I would try to see the good in him. And, I’ll be honest, some days are easier than others. But every time I find something good about him, my day goes better and our relationship gets stronger. There is so much ugly in our world and sometimes it’s hard to see through it, but I promise if we look for the good in situations, in people and in life, we will be happy.
#2 ~ Don’t Worry ~
I am a worrier for sure! I’m constantly analyzing things and organizing things and making sure everything is taken care of. And a lot of times, this keeps me from being happy because I’m too busy worrying about everything to let myself go. I know this is cliché but as Elsa from Frozen said, ‘Let it go!’. We have to realize that we can’t control everything and that’s OKAY! Sometimes we just have to have faith and let things work out how they will.
#3 ~ Avoid Comparison ~
A woman I know (we’ll call her Katie) recently shared a story that has stuck with me. She was talking about another family that she knew and how their life looked so perfect! That the grass was always greener over there. She had the perfect husband, the perfect kids and things were just going great for them. Katie was always jealous. Thinking, ah, I wish my life could be like that. Then one day Katie found out that this other family discovered one of their kids had cancer. And immediately Katie’s heart changed. She realized that no one was perfect and that comparing herself to someone else wasn’t going to get her anywhere. I remember she said, ‘I’ll take my trials’.
Comparing ourselves to others only tears us down. In the photography world, there are so many talented creatives. And it’s so easy to get lost in the comparison cycle. Ah, her images are gorgeous, she has so much talent, she’s getting all the clients I want, etc. And when we do this, we end up taring ourselves apart. We think that we’re not good enough, or pretty enough or strong enough. Well, news flash, everyone is different and no one is perfect!!!!! Even if someone’s life seems perfect, I promise you, they have their own struggles too.
#4 ~ Be Grateful ~
I once heard a saying that goes like this ‘If you’re worried and can’t sleep, try counting blessings instead of sheep’. I think a lot of times we take our blessings for granted. Sometimes we feel entitled to have the things we do but no one is entitled to anything. Counting our blessings has a way of humbling us. When we look at and really see what we have, we often find that there’s no reason we should feel un-grateful.

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