Being Appreciative and Grateful

-- is SO important for all of us to remember.  Honestly, we can lose sight of what truly matters in life very quickly.  I have lived in Hollywood for nearly 4 years now.  That doesn't really seem possible, but it's true!  And I have to admit that being around this type of environment (ridiculous amounts of money, famous people everywhere, expensive homes and products, etc.) I sometimes forget why I came here in the first place!  I like to share what I learn as I go through my life, and today's blog post will include one of these lessons that I have truly come to learn.

Stop comparing yourself to others:  

You have to stop doing it.  We're all guilty of this at one point or another.  As my mom always says, "Comparing yourself to others leads to one of two outcomes.  1)  You're bitter.  2)  You're disappointed."  We must learn to accept ourselves as we are.  We all have flaws, and we have all made mistakes.  No one is perfect.  Yet, when we look at our differences, our uniqueness, we find that these so called "flaws" are not flaws at all.  These are the very things that set us apart from another person.  We are all individuals.  Don't try and be the same as someone else! 

Focus on what you HAVE rather than what you WANT:

This is sooooo important.  While you're reading this, look around your room for a minute.  C'mon, I'll wait!!  OK, well done.  What do you see around you?  Something that made you smile?  Maybe your friend or roommate is near you.  I guarantee that there are a million things that you can be happy about by just looking at your surroundings!  There is so much around us all to be thankful for.  Try and always stay in the mindset of focusing on the amazing things that you have in your life  rather than spending time complaining about what you WANT to have.  Start wanting what you've already got! ;)

Live in the NOW:

All too often, we spend so much time worrying about the past and the future.  What happens is that we tend to overlook TODAY!  I will admit that I am totally guilty of this.  I spend a lot of time worrying about the future.  I don't mean to do it, but I really do.  It's one of the things that I am working on with myself haha.  It's not to say that I don't appreciate each day.  I truly do.  However I can do more, and I can do a better job of being appreciative of every single breath that I take!  The past and the future really don't matter at all.  It's good to have an idea of what you're trying to accomplish, but always live your life to the fullest NOW.  As PitBull says,  "I see the future, but live for the moment, make sense don't it?!"  ---Yes, Pitbull, it does actually.  :P

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