Board Certified Counselor
It seems that many of us have at one time or another idealized or thought that other people have it easier then we do. During our times of struggle, it is easy to look at someone else’s life and wish we were in their shoes.
A recent interview of Rod Stewart by Piers Morgan recently caught my attention.
I tuned in right as Morgan was asking Stewart about the divorce between him and supermodel Rachel Hunter.
In my eyes, I have always perceived Stewart as someone who has a “charmed” life. Fame, fortune, a successful career, several large mansions located in exotic places, fancy cars, and so on.
The logical part of my brain knows that those things alone cannot really make one happy, but it’s OK to dream, right? I guess that is why I was impressed by his honesty when he said he was very devastated over the loss of the marriage.
Although he has since moved on, Stewart said after the initial shock of being, it had taken him several months to recuperate from the loss. I was thinking to myself, “Even a man of Rod Stewart’s caliber gets his heart broken.”
Every one has their own journey in life, and I can assure you that we all have our challenges to overcome. The key is to not look at the grass on the other side of the fence as being greener, but to look at your own life and appreciate all of the things that are going well for you.
A little tip that I like to help with appreciating all of the things that are going well is to keep a success journal. Every day you should write down all of the things that you accomplished for that day and even go as far as to listing 10 things that you are grateful for each day.
Let’s face it, life can be tough and the peaks and valleys are sure to come. There may be some days that you will only be grateful for getting out of bed but slowly and surely things will get better and when you look at your own life, you will realize that you have all that you need.
In time, your success journal will be filled with things like getting a promotion at work, building a new home, taking a vacation, or the most wonderful thing of all – the ability to feel hopeful about the future again.
Suggested Reading:
How to Recover From Your Divorce
5 Tips to Help Children With Divorce
5 Easy Tips to Live a Happier Life
Lisa Brown, MA, LPC, NCC, is a practicing therapist who helps people overcome life transitions specifically related to loss. For more information, visit her website www.counseling-helps.org.