Dear Friend,
Even with so many beautiful words in the English language, there probably aren’t enough ways to tell you just how special you are. We thought about it, sat down and really considered when the last time was when we wrote a letter to a friend. Some of us popped in with an email, others a text, some even a physical card, but none of us had really said all that we wanted to say in a letter in quite some time. This is our letter to a friend, and that friend is you. This is as much a letter for you as it is for us, for everyone, for the business owner, and the business starter, for the professional, for those juggling two jobs, multiple projects, a 9-5, and a side hustle. It’s for innovators, the wee hours of the morning people, working couples, and working families. Those who love their job and those who hate it. This is our letter to a friend, and that friend is you.
Don’t Stress it
First, congratulations on making it this far – life’s stressful, and it can break us if we’re not careful. Hopefully, when you wake up, you can appreciate what you’ve built, whether it’s a nice home, a lovely family, a growing business, or the freedom to do all the things you enjoy most.
And if your nice home has a faucet that always sticks or floors that badly need renovating – don’t worry, you’ll get to it; it’s never as bad as it seems. If your lovely family is driving you crazy or you feel disconnected from the people in your life, it’s usually cyclical, because in one moment someone will do something to take you out of your funk and remind you of all the reasons why you love them. If that growing business isn’t growing as fast as you wanted and the hours you’re putting in don’t seem to even be making a dent – don’t feel hopeless. If you are feeling hopeless, remember that hopelessness subsides if you fight it, and with enough creative thinking you can figure out almost anything. Einstein once said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” If you don’t fight to achieve a better outcome, you don’t deserve that outcome. And if you fail at achieving that outcome don’t live in your failure, come back and achieve something better, then what you could have done differently will turn into what you did do differently. If the freedom to do what you enjoy most isn’t there yet, make time for these things in small doses and know that we earn our enjoyment – every bit of it.
Tips to Find Your Happiness
You may say that it’s easy for us to comment on things we know nothing about – that we don’t know you personally, and we haven’t had to deal with what you deal with, but consider for a moment that in many ways we have. We’re all different, we all have various levels of hardships, but common ground is found in our pursuit of happiness – whatever it may be. And if you’re not happy every moment of every day, don’t worry. It’s normal to have doubt, to want more, to have a need to fix things, to get bored with your routine, or lost on the dark side of your mind. But our letter to a friend does not come without some tips:
- Shake things up. Routine is great, especially if it’s one we like, but it’s also nice to try out something new. Get up the first time your alarm goes off, have coffee on the porch and greet the sunrise. Try a new workout routine. A new food. Learn a new skill. Switch up your style. Read…a book. Yes, they still make them. Journal. Decorate your desk at work. Come up with a different way to do a project. Plan a date night – and not just dinner and a movie – something special and unique. Maybe it’s time to take a vacation – you don’t have to go far to experience something different.
- Share with people. Brighten someone’s day. Send a card just because. Give your mom a call. Have friends over for dinner and engage in a deep conversation. Tell someone something they never knew about you. Strengthen your professional relationships with customers, employees, and colleagues – you never know where they’ll lead you. Get to the heart of who you are and how it can help others. Engage in activities – with your community and with those closest to you.
- Enjoy the season. There are so many great things that happen throughout the year. Get outside if it’s nice. Play a board game on rainy days. Write a short story. Learn to ski. Jump out of a plane (don’t forget to take a parachute). See a play. Take the dogs hiking. Watch the leaves change. Enjoy the silent woods in winter and listen to your shoes crunch against the snow. Celebrate the regular holidays, but throw in a few strange ones like Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, Plan a Solo Vacation Day, and Poem in Your Pocket Day. Yes, all these holidays exist, and there are many more, check out this link to see which ones you would like to honor.
- Think of something you love. Life isn’t always sweet, and even if you’re having a hard time, try to find a few things you enjoy every day. This is easier said than done sometimes, but if you can find even ten minutes out of a day that brings you peace and a little happiness, your love of life still exists and can always grow. If you found ten minutes out of a day that you enjoy, try for 12 minutes, and keep working your way up.
- Take a different perspective. Sometimes, you need to look away and then look back from a totally different perspective. It may even take a total revamping of your life. It’s tough starting from scratch but sometimes it’s necessary. Though, we don’t always need to be that drastic. Sometimes all it takes is a good night’s rest to wake up in the morning with a totally new confidence about your day.
- Breathe. This can be as literal as inhaling and exhaling, listening to and feeling your breath, and taking a moment to relax. Focus on the positive parts of your surroundings, blocking out the stressors. If it’s all stressors, go inward and let your mind go blank. Think of a place, act, or moment that brings you serenity and joy. Go there and come back refreshed.
Sincerely,
CardsDirect
We want to keep adding to this letter. Give us your advice. Help us write the perfect letter to a friend then share the wisdom with everyone you know.