Life can get a little heavy sometimes. It can be so easy to let the daily grind of general  day to day life drag you down and make things seem pretty pointless. We are all guilty of it and it’s completely rubbish. I for one frequently feel it and it can be totally crap. You find yourself questioning your life choices and how you’re handling this little ol’ thing called adulthood.

I found things tough in more recent times. Although I have a job I love and I wouldn’t change it for the world, since graduating, things have seemed a little heavy and adulthood has started taking it’s toll (at the ripe old age of 24 ha!). Now, there’s nothing in my life that’s particularly stressful or trying in the broad sense of the words, I have no children, no stressful partner and no job that I bring home the pressures of the workplace but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still feel the daily grind of an adult life and adult responsibilities.

I like routine. I work 10-6 (I wish it was 9-5 so I could squeeze in a Dolly Parton lyric reference…) five days a week but this is the first time in my life that I’ve had a full time job and not had studying alongside it to break up the weeks with essay or exam stress and it kind of feels weird and incredibly grown up.

I’ve have weeks where I’m so focused on work, the day to day jobs that I have to complete, the mental lists I’ve been ticking off throughout my working week that I forget to appreciate it, my work, my life and what I’ve been working towards.

I feel like sometimes we focus too much on working towards the “bigger picture” things in our lives when the small, little, everyday things that pass us by are the things that we should be recognising and be appreciating more than we actually do. These are the things that hold the power to make us happy and make our lives just that little bit better.

I feel as if we’re always working towards something bigger, that we’re ticking off the days, counting down towards the next landmark or the next big life moment. I for one am incredibly guilty of it, I spend a lot of my time ticking the weeks off heading towards the next event I’m going to or celebration I’m joining in that those days are turning to weeks and those weeks turning to years and I’m not making the most of the everyday.

Now I’m not saying that we shouldn’t get excited by those events or celebrations, counting down to things like that can be incredibly exciting and make working to pay for or working towards those things all worth while but when you’re counting down the hours in work just waiting for that closing time or wishing the days away it can all seem a little pointless.

We all need to appreciate the little things in life that might pass you by, that kind gesture on the street, that nice compliment from the woman in Boots who compliments every person she serves (she’s my fave!) or that tight hug you need from your loved one when you get home at the end of a busy day. These are the things that make life that little bit more bearable and make you that little bit more happy.

Ever since my sister passed away last year (I wrote a little post about it here) I’ve been trying to live by the mantra that life is too short and that we should be grabbing life by the horns and making the most of the short time we have on this little ol’ planet and I think making the most of the little things in life comes into play when thinking about this. Of course we should be celebrating those big things that happen to us but maybe once in a while it’s a good idea to slow down and recognise and appreciate how far you’ve come or notice how great life can be in those little moments.

Next time you feel like the world is dragging you down, take a minute to squeeze your nearest and dearest, go outside and notice how beautiful the weather is (or isn’t, which if you’re in the UK is inevitable…) or be polite to that shop assistant who may be having a crap day (which is probably me 50% of the time…).

I’m going to stop typing now as this has all got a little too cheesy and I, for one, cannot have cheesiness clogging up my blog, ha!

Thanks for reading,

Molly Catherine

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