Do You Love Your Life?

Try out this powerful question to create the life you really want to live.

Our lives get better when our questions get better.

Better questions can empower us to make changes, to feel empowered, to move towards the life we want to live and the person we want to be.

Recently, my husband asked me, “Are you happy?”

Hmmm. I realized “happy” is a tough word. We all know what happiness is in a general way. We’d like to be happy. But, happy how? We know we can’t be happy 24/7. A happy activity? A happy business? A happy day? We can identify a happy dog or a happy child. But, what does a happy adult with lots of responsibilities look like?!

So, I’ve been reflecting on this question. As a life coach, I like to shift questions to better questions. Better questions that help me and my clients create change, transformation, action, clarity, focus.

Here’s what I came up with.

Rather than, “Are you happy?” I’ve been trying out, “Do you love your life?”

This is a much more powerful question to use to examine my life. It is quite simple. It is empowering. I can see quite clearly where I need to make changes.

Because, wouldn’t it be amazing if you could say to yourself every day that you loved your life today?

How can you use and apply this powerful question in a practical way?

Apply it to each important area of your life — your work, your relationships, your health, your environment, your experiences, your peace of mind, your spiritual health.

• Did I love my life today?
• Did I love some activities I did? some experiences?
• Did I love interacting with someone today? A friend, colleague, family, spouse, child, acquaintance?
• Do I love where I live? My environment? The places I frequent?
• Did I love doing something by myself?
• Did I do something that made me smile, laugh, feel gleeful, energized, and/or joyful?
• Did I do something that made me feel peaceful, content, calm?
• Did I do something that made me feel connected to my source?
• Did I do or see something that gave me a rush? It made me feel awe and wonder?
• Do I love what I do? Is there something about the work I do that I love?
• Do I have relationships that I love? That I feel really grateful for? That makes me feel good? That makes me feel loved?

You will quickly see what areas need work.

Then shift the question to take action

• What do I need to change or do so that I would love my life in this area?
• What simple or small action can I make today, this week, to begin to make this change?

Often, it is the simple things in life that we love, that are the most powerful, that make us feel grateful, that make us love our life.

Here are some examples of the simple things that make me love my life.

My morning coffee dawdle is my happy hour.

I am semi-retired now. When I worked in an office, I rushed out the door in the mornings to get to work early. Now there is no rushing. I dawdle over a pot of coffee in the morning.

In winter, I sit in front of a gorgeous fire in our wood burner and slowly sip several cups of coffee. In the other seasons, I open the door, or sit on the porch, and listen to the birds waking. I might watch the sunrise. I take a full hour over that pot of coffee to slowly start my day.

Does it make me happy? Well, better words are that it makes me feel peaceful, content, calm, gleeful that I can start my day so slowly, grateful. I really, really love this. It is my favorite time of the day. My happy hour. It makes me love my life.

My exercise is my meditation.

The very best exercise that we can do is … the one that we love doing. I’ve started running, again. I run on one of several local trails in the woods. Wow. This is so magical for me. I am filled with awe and wonder at the beauty of nature, woods, birds, wind in the trees, sunrise if I’m running that early, maybe a nearby stream.

Does it make me happy? Well, a better description is that it makes me feel connected to my source, in sync with the world, energized, empowered. Without realizing it, I may write a speech, an article, solve a problem. Or, just be with nature. Grounded. I really love it. It makes me love my life.

My evening walk at the park with my husband.

Most evenings, my husband and I take a walk in the park. We may or may not talk about our day. Silence is fine. We hold hands. We people watch. We nature watch. We may watch the sunset. It is no big deal, but… it is.

Does it make me happy? Well, it really fills me with gratitude, peace, wonder, and awe that I have found such a terrific man, a terrific place to live, and a terrific way of life right now. It makes me really, really love my life.

My life list, my 25 Things list.

This is the list of things I want to do before I die. My life goals. And, while I dawdle over coffee, run, or walk in the park, I often reflect on how I’m doing on them. Right now, I am actively working on 3 items on the list. So, I’ve created a life where I can work on the important things.

Does it make me happy? Well, Yes, it does. It makes me grateful. It makes me love my life.

What we focus on expands. Since I’ve been focusing on this question recently, I seem to attract more and more of it into my life. I look at what I love, what needs to change and continue to cycle through this series of questions.

Is it all rainbows and roses and perfect? No, but this question is really helping me see where to make changes, take action.

Try out this powerful question.

Do you love your life?

Let it guide you, shift you, help you create a beautiful life. The life that you really want to live.

What are the experiences, activities, people that you need to add or subtract to your life so that you love your life? So that at the end of each day you can ask and answer….

Did I love my life today? Yes. Yes, I did.

Try it and let me know how it goes.