People Who Truly Love Their Lives Do These 11 Things Differently Than Everyone Else
The key to a happy life is more simple than you might realize.
Jacob Lund / Shutterstock Have you ever followed someone on social media because their life looks so perfect, or maybe you blocked them for the same reason? There are many people out there who seem to have an amazing life, and they really do! Many people look up to them, hoping they can find out what their secret to happiness is, when the answer is usually quite simple.
People who truly love their lives tend to do certain things differently than everyone else. More often than not, having excellent relationships is what creates such a healthy and loving life. “Our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health,” said Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
People who truly love their lives do these 11 things differently than everyone else
1. They romanticize the smallest moments
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Finding ways to appreciate the beauty in everything is how someone can truly live in the moment. By loving even the smallest moments in your life, when you look back to reminisce, you'll find that every part of life has been remembered and appreciated. Loving your life means loving everything it has to offer, even if it's bad.
Savoring a moment can deepen a sense of enjoyment and well-being while also boosting a positive mood, according to psychologists.
2. They prioritize experiences over appearances
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People who truly love their lives never really care about how they look when they're dancing on the dance floor or hiking at a state park that's been on their bucket list for years. It's not to say that you should stop putting effort into your appearance, but a reminder that makeup gets messy and so does hair when you're caught up enjoying your life.
There's no need to constantly fix your appearance. Instead, they spend that time soaking in the moment.
This piece of advice is especially important to all the women out there, since they are the ones who end up obsessing the most over whether their arms look fat in a dress or if their shirt dulls their face.
3. They set boundaries without guilt
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Being able to enjoy your life to the fullest means not wasting any time with people who don't make you feel loved or valued. In order to break away from certain behaviors or people who don't provide any sense of joy to your life, you need to start learning how to set firm boundaries.
Having boundaries in your platonic, work, or romantic relationships is essential if you want to start living the life you deserve. When a healthy boundary is set, it can even strengthen that same relationship and improve self-esteem.
4. They choose curiosity over fear
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A lot of exciting life moments wouldn't happen without curiosity and the courage to follow that curiosity. When someone lives a life full of fear, they find themselves wasting their years inside their own home without any intention to explore the town they live in or venture out and make friends to spend their afternoons with.
When someone is curious, they enrich their life in various aspects. It helps people find new opportunities and also pushes them to deepen relationships with those they love.
5. Rest is a part of their routine, not a reward
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There are a lot of people who only know how to work, and yet they still ask themselves why they feel so miserable and unhappy in their lives. The simple answer is that they don't prioritize rest as much as they do work.
Viewing rest as a reward denies your body and mind the self-care they need after a long day in the office or studio. By recharging your energy, you're also changing how you approach life outside of work. To be happy in life, there needs to be a balance.
6. They invest in nourishing relationships
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It's important to have people in your life who not only respond to your last-minute text about wanting to hit the town, but also relationships that help nourish your growth and creativity. Having friends who are on the same healing journey as you can be very beneficial since you can both lean on each other and support the right decisions for your next stage in life.
If you're lucky enough, you'll even have a group of friends that nourish different aspects of your life.
"Having nurturing relationships is protective of mental health and overall brain health," says Dr. Jennifer Gatchel, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
7. They speak to themselves with kindness
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Being able to love your life also means loving yourself. People who talk to themselves with nothing but kindness respect their health and themselves. By learning to love yourself, you start to really focus on what your body and mind need in order to have a fulfilled life.
Dr. Robert Puff notes that an important part of starting the new journey of ending negative talk towards ourselves is to do the same with those around us.
"By changing the way we speak to and think about people, we are capable of changing how we see ourselves and the world. A beautiful outcome of spreading positivity is radical self-acceptance," Puff says.
8. They take action toward achieving their goals
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In order to live a life you love, you need to first figure out how to attain the goals that'll make you happier in life. Having goals is one thing, but it's another to actually plan out how to reach those goals.
Taking the reins on your life is determining the first step in getting what you want, whether that's moving to a new city, asking for that raise, or even breaking up with that toxic partner.
9. They embrace change
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People who love their lives have learned to become adaptable. Everyone's life is constantly changing, and staying stagnant is the best way to remain unhappy. There are countless challenges and struggles that many people face, and though it seems as though some don't feel threatened by them, on the inside, they're probably stressing out while trying to find a solution.
The first step is to learn that adaptability helps prevent a lot of this stress. By taking a challenge and learning to embrace the change it brings, not only does it teach you to be stronger, but it can even bring a new sense of joy.
10. They like to spend time alone
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Finding out what really makes you happy and what your goals in life are means spending some alone time to figure it out. People from the outside looking in often think that everyone who lives a wonderful life already had it planned out for them, but in reality, taking time for yourself is essential to discovering who you really are and how you want to approach your life.
When someone is always around other people, it can be difficult at times to determine which ideas and wants are strictly theirs and not influenced by others. Spending time on your own helps you foster personal growth and gain a better sense of self-awareness.
11. Their routines are aligned with their values
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Having a life that you truly love is about knowing exactly what you love and why. Living your day-to-day according to your needs and your values brings a better way of living. When your routine reflects what matters to you, your life naturally starts to feel more meaningful.
Instead of moving through life and making decisions on autopilot, you start making choices that support the person you want to become. Even the little routines, like what you do in the morning to get ready for the day, become acts of self-respect.
People who genuinely love their lives aren't necessarily the ones who have a lot of money. It's the people who decide to show up for themselves. They honor their needs and nurture their relationships to create a life that feels good to live.
Doreen Albuerne is a writer with a bachelor's degree in journalism, covering relationships, mental health, and lifestyle topics.
