High Grade Living is such a beautiful concept we have developed, and it is my large focus at the moment. I want to explore some thinking around this in more detail in this post and flip a concept we are normally taught, of thinking big, with huge lofty plans – to thinking small.
Some of us think that life will be easier/less stressed/calmer/more fun/more creative/more interesting at a later date. That we’ll start eating better tomorrow, get fit next week, learn a tool we know will make us a better person in a month, and travel someplace fabulous next year. Soon, when times aren’t as tough, we’ll be more generous and calm, more loving towards themselves and others. We’ll be happier, inspired, creative, and the best version of themselves someday, but now is not the time.
This is when we are rehearsing the future, and not being in the present moment. It’s attractive to do it, as we can fantasise about what will be, rather than what currently is.
We need to stop kidding ourselves! This is such an insane excuse for not being content now. Now is EXACTLY the right time to be who you need to be, and to be happier. So let’s just take baby steps. THINK SMALL. Take each day at a a time, and be present in each moment. When feeling overwhelmed, or confused, just put it in the context of the day, not any grand plans for the year.
Examples
Will you feel better for going for that walk, or better without it?
Will you feel healthier if you drink half a bottle of wine or if you go without tonight?
Will losing your temper over something small in a few hours, make you feel proud of who you are, or make you feel regret?
Will taking 10 minutes for a quiet cup of tea or coffee help you be more productive for the rest of the work day, or can you really not spare the time?
It’s really just having a heightened sense of awareness that allows us to make the right choices, and a heightened sense of awareness comes from being present.
We need to tackle the small things. As it’s the small actions that lead through to bigger actions. It’s honestly no wonder we put off our own happiness, as sometimes the thought of everything we need to do to achieve this is simply too huge to tackle. So start small. Fill each day with something you love, and manage situations in a way that make you proud, and treat your body and digestion with respect and love, and nurture your mind. Work on your relationships and friendships with little things, manageable things that make a difference, if only to you at first, and how you feel.
We already have a High Grade Life, if only we let some of the low grade fall away and stop holding us down. High Grade Living is about choosing the best in every moment and letting the low grade diminish.
Take this thought with you in everything you do ‘will this bring me happiness, or take away from it’ and then make an educated decision from that place. Not from a place of guilt or ‘should’. Decisions based on bringing the highest grade into your life at every opportunity.