Remember When You Wanted Everything You Currently Have

The title to this blog is one of my favourite sayings, yet something I have to remind myself of from time to time. I’m a stickler when it comes to being grateful, and I hardly ever look around and think ‘wow’ I have everything I could ever want and need; but in reality, when you stop and think about it, aren’t we all living the lives that we wanted for ourselves when we were younger?

Being grateful doesn’t come easily to us, and I don’t want to speak for a generation, but millennials are seen to be narcissistic and egotistical if we admit to having it all (grr to the media!) so we do what we do best, and keep it inside. But in reality, a lot of us are living the life that we wanted through years of hard work and perseverance.

As human beings, we have a need to be perfect all the time, pile the pressure on and never really ourselves the chance to live in the moment, myself included. I never say well done to myself for meeting a huge deadline which seemed impossible, or give myself a pat on the back for catching up with a friend that I’ve been meaning to for ages or a high five for making a recipe and not setting the house on fire – it’s just not something that comes naturally to us.

Sometimes we’re so focused on the bigger picture that we remember to think about the little pieces we put in place to get us there.

If I think back to when I was younger, I didn’t really have much of an idea what I wanted to do with my life or what I wanted to achieve when I grew up: All I really knew was that I wanted to be in a job that I liked, have a counterpart that supported me and to be as happy as possible as well as taking trips to new places, nurturing my friendships from over the years and finding an outlet to be creative; and you know what? I think I’ve cracked it.

Although there are things I want to achieve in my life, I can honestly say that in 2019, I am happy and content: I love my little house, my fur babies, my friends and family and my job; my mental health is in a good place, I have a great network of people around me who 100% get this space of the internet, and I’m healthy. What more could we want for ourselves?

I feel incredibly lucky to live the life that I do, and this year I want to start making more of an effort to be grateful for what I do have, instead of always searching for that something extra which I think will make my life more complete: I’m not saying it’s going to be an easy transition, but it’s something that I want to do to be more mindful, live in the moment and enjoy each day as it comes.

It can sometimes be easy to always want what we don’t have, and I think each and every one of us can admit to doing just that, especially with the likes of social media making everyone look like they’re living their best lives, but when you take a step back and look around we are so lucky to have the things and opportunities that we do.

I posted this blog on Monday about what I get up to day to day, and the response to it was amazing: I had people messaging to say how much they loved finding out about this side of me, colleagues who applauded the honesty of talking about how tough it can be, and friends being incredibly supportive of my decision to post. I am incredibly lucky that I have somewhere to write and share sides of my life which not everyone knows about and grateful that I have an audience who enjoys reading what I have to say.

When I was younger, being a writer is something I wanted for myself, but now, I have something even better. I can write what I want, when I want, instead of having to meet the deadlines of a newspaper or magazine, and (fingers crossed it will continue) I don’t get backlash for speaking my mind.

Our lives take these crazy, unexpected paths that sometimes we can’t even comprehend but they always lead us to a destination where we have so much to be thankful for. I never thought I would be happy if I didn’t live in a converted loft apartment in New York, be married with children before I was 26, and had money to travel the world. When I was a teenager, I was convinced this was the magic potion that would make me happy (I blame too much Sex & The City), but now I’ve made my own version.

Sometimes we wobble when life doesn’t go to plan, or when the universe throws us a curve-ball, and it can be hard to still be thankful when you’re thinking where to turn next, but always know that this too will pass – nothing stays the same for long, and that’s the beauty of the world.

It can be hard sometimes to not want more – a promotion, a bigger house or a slimmer figure, or compare ourselves to others who have a life that we aspire to one day live, but if you have food on the table, a roof over your head and friends and family who support you no matter what, you have won the jackpot in my eyes. As much as I am all about striving for more in order to better your life, I think it is important that we take a step back every so often and appreciate everything that currently makes us tick over in the day and be thankful for it.

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