5 Secrets to Train Yourself To Be Content
Funeral Professionals are a funny bunch, willing to give every bit of themselves to those who are suffering internally on one of the worst days of their lives, without even a thought for their own self-preservation or mental fortitude.
The biggest battle we face in this industry is against ourselves, to be content with oneself is the best way to find the inner peace necessary to ensure a long and healthy career in the funeral industry
Here are the top 5 secrets to being happy with the person you are and being the best version of yourself you can be
Act on your Goals
Is there something you’ve always wanted to do if only you had a little bit of free time? Maybe you’ll get around to it someday, well someday never comes, and as we know there is no promise of tomorrow for anyone. The path will illuminate itself once you start down it.
Perhaps you have an idea for your own business but you find the thought of starting it overwhelming and you don't know where to begin. Well, good news for you, you can learn anything on the internet, no need to go back to school and sit in a classroom. There are so many free and paid-for resources out there from people who have achieved a certain thing and want to teach others to do it as well.
YouTube is a great resource for free content to get yourself started, but there are also fantastic sites such as Udemy.com to search more in-depth. Take as many courses as it takes and you will eventually feel confident enough to go out on your own and build something for yourself, who knows, once you achieve your goal maybe you will want to teach others to do it as well.
Take Care of your health
The stressors that come with an occupation in the Funeral Industry often manifest themselves in poor diet, lack of physical activity, & overconsumption of alcohol, which all culminate in many Funeral people ending their careers and lives early. Meditating for 1 minute is a valuable tool to start your day and clear your head.
By not finding the correct outlet for the deep emotions that we sometimes have to navigate, we may find our overall health deteriorating at a rapid pace leaving us scratching our heads wondering what happened. Wash and groom yourself regularly, if you take pride in your appearance you take pride in yourself. If you look good you feel good!
No one ever ate themself into being happier, usually quite the opposite. If you are thinking too much about what your next meal is going to be, or if you always have a snack in your hands you may be eating your feelings. I don't want to come off as cold in this way, but it took a long time for me to be honest with myself about what I was using food as a replacement for, everyone should stop and reflect on this.
Let Go of the Past
“The past is only a memory”
Has someone wronged you? Do you think about this incident too often? Do not let these people live rent-free in your mind, just let it go. I’m not saying forgive the person for what they did, focus on the concept of Karma. What goes around comes around, more often than not you will be vindicated in the end when. Keep your karma in good shape and you will be rewarded for your effort.
Focus on the lesson you learned and use it to make you smarter the next go around. If you have to think about something negative that happened to you, or something stupid that you did, try to focus on what you learned from this mistake.
The past is only a memory, if that memory doesn't bring you joy just forget about it. I am blessed with a terrible memory when it comes to personal trauma, perhaps it's my brain protecting me, but I don't think about things that hurt me. One of my matras is ” eyes forward” meaning keep your mind focused on the task at hand, which is to be better today than you were yesterday. You aren't the person from your memories, if you don't want to remember something, don't, you are in charge.
Take a Moment To Be Grateful for Something
Gratitude takes practice, it is easy to not appreciate what you have and focus on what you don't. Start keeping track of whenever you say “Thank you”, when we stop and reflect on what instances bring us to say this we 1. Affirm the good things we’ve received & 2. We acknowledge the role other people play in providing our lives with this goodness.
Everyone has something in their life that is amazing, find out what that is for you and keep it in the forefront of your mind. It is easy to let the everyday motions of making it through the day get the better of us, but if you focus on that one thing in your life that is truly amazing, it puts all the little stuff into perspective.
Whenever you find yourself thinking “This sucks.” reverse the thinking and find a way to be thankful for the situation. What lesson did it teach you? What information will you take forward with you to ensure it doesn't happen again, and even if it does, you will know what to prepare for?
You probably have too much stuff, get rid of it.
STUFF does not equal happiness, Do you have A nice new car? I bet you have a nice car payment to go along with that. The more stuff you own the more it owns you, and if the only reason you wake up and go to work is to pay for the stuff in your life then that is a very hollow life.
Happiness comes from within and cannot come from shiny possessions. We buy things because we think they will bring us happiness. Perhaps at first that works, but that is not sustainable, these are just crutches.
Removing the clutter from your life not only frees up space in your immediate vicinity, but it frees up space in your brain. If you have thirty shirts hanging up in your closet as opposed to just five, you have thirty choices to think about instead of just five. Not to mention that much more to take care of and keep clean. All of this takes up energy, energy that you do not have a limitless supply of and could be put to use somewhere more important in your life.
In conclusion, you cannot find happiness or a sense of contentness through material possessions, Contentness comes from within. By keeping your physical body in the best shape it can be, your mind will follow. Be as kind to others as you want them to be to you, and get rid of needless things that take up space in your life and your mind. Get started on improving yourself by continually learning and educating yourself by following people who have achieved the way of life you seek for yourself.
