Create a life that feels good on the inside, not just one that looks good on the outside.

We cannot know, other people's private thoughts and actions, so we compare our insides to other folks' outsides -- we don't allow ourselves the life-altering knowledge that we are so far from alone. Our inner most expressions, thoughts, and behavior are the true norm. Only we don't talk about it. I was taught life wasn't perfect nor would it be a daily parade in my honor , but it took more than some quick one-liners to get me enjoying life on a deeper level. I chose gratitude as my attitude in which I've learned to live my life although the he word itself used to cause me to have an immediate eye roll. 

I succumbed to embracing this mindset as a daily practice. It's like a light switch causing a perceptional switch and born out of not controlling or changing your situation, but how you view it. Think about it this way, when have you ever met a truly successful person who is happy with their life tell you how they received the short end of the stick or blamed a failure on someone else or takes time to talk negatively about someone else's life choices? Even a happy single friend who claims, "all the good ones are taken." Never. Those who practice gratitude don't see life through that lens and even though everyone has a 'story,' it's those who flipped the switch on perspective that come out swinging and feeling damn good regardless of life's circumstances.

Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life. 

Life didn't always go as smooth and has my type-A perfectionist mentality had planned. I was always prepared for twists and turns as my father had prepared me for. He had gotten in a car accident in his early 30s prior to my birth and completely lost all use of his vocal cords. Post business school, in the working world, single and with no voice other than a soft whisper he and had to relearn how to love life on different terms. I had always known him to be the first out of bed to read the paper, excelling in the business world, coach baseball always teaching the kids mental strategies in striking out in life but always getting back up. I had always thought those who have gone through tragedy are shoved into the mindset of gratitude in order to survive but later learned it's something that must be learned, practiced, and it's a choice to reprogram your brain.

Stop looking around you and start diving into all that you have to be grateful for. In the end, it's the key to building a life that feels good on the inside, and that's the only place that matters.