Getting Lost in the Little Things

Getting lost in the little things

Modern life isn’t as simplistic as it once was, well at least that’s how it seems to those that have come from “simpler times”. I think it seems that way because we think back to a time in our childhood, back when we had fewer responsibilities, and it seemed as though things were easier, but does that exactly mean that “times” were easier? Think back to the great depression, would you think times were easier then, I would postulate that they were not. So, what makes modern life seem so difficult?

I’ve thought about this over the past week, and it wasn’t until this weekend that I came to a true conclusion, at least one that makes sense to me. It’s the little things in life that make it seem as though things are much harder than they once were. Think about it with me for a moment, give me a small chance to show you, my logic.

Time

Ever feel like time just seems to fly by faster as you get older? Why is that? It’s not because time has changed nor has our perception of time changed. It’s how we plan our lives out nowadays that makes it seem as though time is flying by faster. Think about it, as a child, you had no real plans, it was just day to day. Sure, you looked forward to special times in a year, holidays, birthdays, vacations, school getting out, but that was it. You just went through life living each day as it came and kept saying, I can’t wait to get older.

Now that you are older, you are planning every aspect of your life, college, work, family, doctor’s appointments, bills, etc. It’s a lot on a person’s plate, so we designate a small portion of each day to each task that needs to get accomplished and before we know it, the day is over, and we have to start it all over the next day. Make sense? I’m hoping so because it’s a small piece of the puzzle that we are talking about.

Relationships

You ever feel like your relationships are not the same as they used to be, like maybe they have lost a step or two and are not as grand as you once felt they were? Why is this? Why does it feel that way? Of course, there are a myriad of reasons that can cause the perceived change or actual change, but what if there are no outside factors like infidelity, distance, psychological changes, etc.? If these outside factors don’t exist, then why does the relationship not seem as great as it once was? Has your partner or friend truly changed or is it that you have become accustomed to the way things are and you have started to dissect the relationship to the point that you are looking for things to be wrong?

Of course, relationships are a much more complex conversation than what can be had in this posting but break down to the simplest forms for now. What is it about the relationship that is making you upset? I’m willing to bet you can nitpick the relationship to death on what’s wrong or what your partner or friend is doing wrong that is upsetting you but individually is these issues truly a big deal? Is anyone or two of these things together a big deal? Or is it that all these smaller issues have jammed themselves into one large issue and made it seem like the relationship has changed for the worse? Hmm, I’m willing to bet that the latter is truer than any one person will honestly admit if they have become so comfortable in being unhappy.

Jobs

At some point you had or have a job that you enjoy working at, you show up early, are eager to do the work, enjoy your co-workers, etc. But over time the job seemed to go downhill, you no longer look forward to going to work, you become exhausted from the day’s work even before the workday has begun, you want out. What’s made this job that you once enjoyed becoming such a drain on your life. Again, just like relationships, there are several factors that can affect these feelings in a person, but what if these outside factors didn’t exist and you still felt this way about the job.

Can you think of a conversation you had with a coworker in which you were complaining about your job and the complaints had nothing to do with the work you did? If you have had a conversation like this, ask yourself, did the job really change, or was it the smaller factors around the job that have now caused you to seek employment elsewhere? If the work is the same but you have become bogged down by too many other factors surrounding your job, then it isn’t the work that has made you unhappy, it’s all the little things. Just like in our relationships, it is the little things that have made the job seem so much worse than it was when we first started.

Conclusion

If you were able to follow my logic in these three small examples then you can see how I have come to believe that it’s getting lost in the little things that affect our happiness, either with specific items or in life in general. If you subscribe to the theory that it’s the little things in life that make you happy, then the converse must also be true, in that getting lost in the little things can make you unhappy. This posting isn’t to say that the little things do not matter, quite the opposite, the little things most certainly matter, but when we become so weighed down by the little negative things, it affects our overall feeling just as much as the little things that bring us happiness.

Robert Brault said, “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” We must be able to take a step back and see if what is stealing our happiness is something more complex or quite simply the little things. If it is the little things then we must decide if there is something we can do to correct these little things, or simply refocus ourselves on the larger picture so that we can again start to find the happiness that we once had. This isn’t to say that this is an easy task, I know, I too fight with this, but it is something that we as individuals must be willing to be conscious of so that we can take the appropriate steps to maintain our happiness or even to regain it.