Wednesday, July 17, 2019

{finding happiness in the little things + my new fave green dress}

Green Dress (small) // Sand Dollar Earrings // Steve Madden Sandals (go up 1/2 size) //













Photography by Lauren Middledorf




I've talked about finding happiness in the little things a lot. I'm no stranger to getting in funks and not being able to pull myself out of it right away. I can't simply snap my fingers and make myself happy again (can anyone though?) - life just doesn't work like that. I can wind up festering on one thing until I fully think it through and come to a conclusion. The problem with that is sometimes it will take days and it's a huge distraction that causes me to be unable to focus on anything else...

Sound familiar?

Yeah, I know I'm not alone! I very easily let other people's emotions and thoughts influence me. So if I'm unhappy at work, for example, and a coworker is feeling the same way and shares those thoughts with me I begin to go in a downward spiral. This happens quickly to me because I'm a very optimistic person. Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? An optimistic person that gets dragged down with pessimism. A negative attitude or thoughts weighs on me heavier than it does for others. Because I attempt to see the best in everything when someone points out a negative it's almost a "glass shattering moment" for me. It's kind of like someone taking off your rose colored glasses ha. I feel emotions very deeply - so when someone announces a pregnancy, engagement, exciting news, etc I feel absolutely elated! If it's sad news like a death or breakup my empathy takes full control of my heart and mind.

I've learned this more and more about myself in the last 3 years. Perhaps it was recognizing how my actions had an effect on others and being forced to take an inward look at myself after a bad breakup, moving into a solo apartment, dating in DC, and then ultimately losing my dad. It was a cumulation of events that makes you look at life differently! For awhile I started writing 3 things that made me smile every morning, then I began to have a one word goal for the week (like endurance, joy, or patience), and I would also have a quote that I wanted to embody by the end of the day/month/week. All of these tasks helped me succeed and keep my happiness up but it was just that... a task. I had to carve out time to do it and really think about what I wanted to focus on and choose. Would I do it again? Yes. I still occasionally write down 3 things that make me smile if it's something unique and random.

But more recently I've begun to find happiness in the little things, in the things that already exist and make up my life. Instead of seeking something out I let it come to me. It makes me appreciate a giving quality in a stranger, or a puppy that I passed on the street, or someones IG story that made me laugh really hard on my commute home. I don't sit down and force myself to say why I'm happy - I glance around for it and it finds me. I think this has caused a domino effect in me because I'm able to recognize the happiness faster and in return I can be pulled out of a funk more quickly.

It sounds silly but this green dress is one of those happy things... I wore it to work on a Friday and got so many compliments that I wore it again on Sunday to drinks with friends. I didn't care that I'd worn it two days earlier. It made me happy and I felt good about myself :) I'm a sucker for green and a dress that I can spin and dance in! That's one of the little things that will always make me happy!

Love Always,

2 comments:

  1. Love this beautiful green dress! It's the biggest blessing to be able to find joy in the little things!

    xoxo A
    www.southernbelleintraining.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're only getting more beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

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