savor the moment

sounds dumb right? but humor me here. right now, stop whatever it is you are doing (other then reading this) and take one huge deep breath. focus on that deep breath. think about how good it feels for a moment to close your eyes and breathe deeply. do it. close em, and do it. now look back here. seriously, do this before reading on, otherwise you will fail.

alright, did you take your deep breath? pretty nice, right? now think about how fucking awful it was the last time you had a cold. how fucking depressing and sad and you just wanted to breathe. but right now you can. so take another deep breath and think about how nice it is, and how great it feels, and how happy that makes you, even if just a tiny bit.

congratulations. you savored your first moment. do this ONCE A DAY every day for the next week. pull out your phone right now and i do mean right fucking now, and schedule one or two random times every day and schedule your phone to vibrate. when you feel it vibrate, that means you stop what ever you are doing and savor the moment.

in class? think about how itneresting the lecture is (Even if its not) or that cute girl across the room. eating? think about how delicious the food is. if its not, think about a better meal and plan to have that later. in bed moping? think about how comfy it feels. with a friend? look up from your phone, smile at them and just say 'im really happy were hanging out right now'. cheesy but effective.

if you can't find a single thing to savor. stop, take a deep breath, and simply savor that.

what this does, is it tricks your brain into logging these mundane activities you experience daily, and frames them as positive moments. it takes your daily life and forces your brain to say 'im happy' when something as simple as a deep breath occurs.

over time you dont need those reminders. over time you just wake up and everythings good, even if something bad happens.

this one can work well in tandem with the positivity but here goes.

if i had to guess you've probably gone to bed many nights saying that tomorrow you would
>walk the dog
>work out
>apply for jobs
>finish all your homework
>Clean the whole house
>start eating healthy

and who knows what else. you might've even made a check list for it so you would have a reminder. but you generally only get one or two done and then get demotivated, yeah?

well the thing about life is that there are no short quick solutions. we want to wake up tomorrow and change everything, but there are no montages. like I mentioned earlier, it takes a lot of self exploration, and that takes time.

so its time to schedule that time. maybe stay up late tonight or whatever night you are ready, and make a list of all your goals. Then, you plan out the next six months with those goals, doing only one big one a month, and little ones after that. think about what is most important to you.

so, here is an example of what that list would look like

>november: quit smoking
>december: start working out
>January: start eating healthy
>February: write a book or some other hobby.

by giving yourself one month, you give yourself enough time not only to learn what you need to without overwhelming yourself, but you give yourself time to actually make it a part of your daily routine, a habit, before moving on to the next habit.

with those big goals, you can have smaller goals, such as apply for jobs every day. and dont worry if you have to adjust the schedule. for instance, if you get a job in march, you will probably slow down your hobby, exercising, and eating habits, as you try to adjust to that new job. thats okay. adjust, then re integrate those things one week at a time, or every two weeks.

do this, and become a master of your life. if you realize something isn't important to you, just a vanity change you are making for others, then remove it.

He pictures himself having trouble breathing and waking to a room full of concerned faces. He had been terrified of dying his entire life, and as much as he tried not to think about it, death was always in the back of his head, around every corner, and hovering on each horizon. He had brushed shoulders with death on a few occasions, but in his carefree youth it had almost seemed like an abstract, impossible thing to ever happen to him. 
But with each passing decade, he began to gauge the time he probably had left, and by his forties, which he considered his halfway point at best, he had come to know just one thing:
you will only get older.

The next thing you know you're looking back instead of forward.
And now, at the climax of his life, after all those nights of worry, sleepless nights, and denials Bill finally finds himself staring his death in the face, surrounded by people he no longer recognized and feels so closer attachment to than the thousands of relatives who'd come before. And as the sun continues to set, he finally comes to realize the dumb irony, in how he's been waiting for this moment his entire life. This stupid, awkward moment of death, that had invaded and distracted so many days with stress and wasted time.
If only he could travel back and impart some wisdom to his younger self; if only he could at least warn the young people in this room.

He lifts an arm to speak, but inexplicably says, "It smells like dust, and moonlight".
for instance, you mat realize that working out is not for you, and simply drop it. or you may realize that your hobby was something that seemed cool but isn't. its okay to give up on something if it doesn't really matter to you. this list helps you realize what is worth it.

things you shouldnt put on a list
>make a friend
>get a gf
>Etc

these sorts of thigns cant happen if you are actually doing them. they make you desperate to fill a hole, so every girl you meet you are trying to date, and they can smell that on you.

instead, add small goals like
>go to a bar once a week and chat up one woman JUST for conversation
or
>go to meetup dot com and attend one or two events a month that are relevant to my interests

and see what happens from there.

the most important thing:
>cross things off your list.

this is what keeps you going. trust me when is say there is nothing more satisfying then crossing everything off of your list, or even just one thing.