How to Want What You Have
How to Want What You Have
“It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you’ve got.” - Sheryl Crow
The 45-minute drive home last Wednesday night from Leavenworth to Overland Park, Kansas gave me some time to think. I just dropped off my younger son, Andrew, for a five-day personal development seminar, and I welcomed the chance to remember a similar night six years ago.
Andrew, I concluded, was fortunate. Attending as a 17-year-old would give him valuable resources he could use for his entire life. I received these same tools shortly after my 41st birthday.
Not that I’m unappreciative to have received these tools later in life, just the opposite. In a way, I received a new lease on life and the opportunity to look at my world from a different point-of-view. For that, I will always be grateful.
Before attending the seminar, I didn’t understand the blessings that existed around me. I was too busy focusing on what I should have and less aware of what I already had. Knowing my son was about to walk in the same training room I once entered gave me the opportunity to recall the person I used to be.
Now, several years later, I’m finding peace and confidence in knowing the person I’m becoming. One catalyst for this growth was in the realization of the gifts that already existed around me- but did not know how to acknowledge or appreciate.
For the past six years I have attempted to live in every moment. Savoring what’s before me and what’s in my life right now has made all the difference in rebuilding my relationships with my children; with strengthening my marriage; and with learning how to love and value myself more.
Making the shift
Learning how to want what you have can bring peace and happiness – it has brought me peace and happiness. To shift from wanting more of what we think we need to appreciating what we have, takes patience and a dose of courage, too. Consider these three steps to begin the shift:
Live with compassion. Compassion
“It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you’ve got.” - Sheryl Crow
The 45-minute drive home last Wednesday night from Leavenworth to Overland Park, Kansas gave me some time to think. I just dropped off my younger son, Andrew, for a five-day personal development seminar, and I welcomed the chance to remember a similar night six years ago.
Andrew, I concluded, was fortunate. Attending as a 17-year-old would give him valuable resources he could use for his entire life. I received these same tools shortly after my 41st birthday.
Not that I’m unappreciative to have received these tools later in life, just the opposite. In a way, I received a new lease on life and the opportunity to look at my world from a different point-of-view. For that, I will always be grateful.
Before attending the seminar, I didn’t understand the blessings that existed around me. I was too busy focusing on what I should have and less aware of what I already had. Knowing my son was about to walk in the same training room I once entered gave me the opportunity to recall the person I used to be.
Now, several years later, I’m finding peace and confidence in knowing the person I’m becoming. One catalyst for this growth was in the realization of the gifts that already existed around me- but did not know how to acknowledge or appreciate.
For the past six years I have attempted to live in every moment. Savoring what’s before me and what’s in my life right now has made all the difference in rebuilding my relationships with my children; with strengthening my marriage; and with learning how to love and value myself more.
Making the shift
Learning how to want what you have can bring peace and happiness – it has brought me peace and happiness. To shift from wanting more of what we think we need to appreciating what we have, takes patience and a dose of courage, too. Consider these three steps to begin the shift:
Live with compassion. Compassion