Most of us move through our days on autopilot. Someone asks, “How are you?” and we reply, “I’m fine.” Not because we’ve reflected on our life, but because it’s the easiest default answer. We don’t pause long enough to actually consider how we’re really doing.
If we took a few seconds to reflect, we might realize things are actually going pretty well.
Maybe you had some back pain last week, but now you’re better — and everything else in your life is pretty good. Maybe work has been challenging, but you grew from it and came out stronger. Or maybe your life is moving in exactly the direction you had hoped, even if progress is slow.
When we step back and look at the whole picture, we often realize that 95% of our life is actually going really well. But we don’t slow down enough to see it. We focus on the little annoyances, inconveniences, and frustrations that take over our attention.
Putting life into perspective changes everything.
Wayne Dyer once said something powerful: Consider how long you will be dead. Think about that. The number of days we are alive compared to the number of days we will not be is unbelievably small. This life — this moment — is a rare and temporary gift.