what's next?

Personally, I don't go to see a stand-up comedy performance expecting to get great philosophical life advice. I expect to be entertained and I hope to be distracted from the realities of my life for a short while. Well this week, Wil Anderson raised the bar. Being the impatient person that I am, I don't like having personal emotional situations that I cannot control. And I always want to find the quickest, easiest way of fixing the situation so I don't have to feel the yucky feelings. A psychologist introduced me to the very helpful technique of Mindfulness. For someone who thinks about things so obsessively I can't actually get anything useful done, this is fantastic. All it is really is forcing yourself to focus. If I am walking, focus on what I am seeing and hearing and where I am going. If I am doing a uni reading, paying attention to every word. All of a sudden, the day has flown by, things have been achieved and you are a day ahead in moving on from the problem. This technique is great for forcing you to be in the present, not dwelling on the past. However, when Wil Anderson shared his very simple life philosophy in his stand-up show, he gave me a great way to move into the future. In any given situation, good or bad, all you need to say is "what's next?". You can't change the past, so what do you want the future to be? If something good has happened, you can ask yourself "what's next?" and think about how you can perpetuate and build upon this positive event. If something shit happens, ask "what's next" and think about what positive situations you can now work towards. This is definitely an attitude I have always had towards clothes and shopping, which in a way is quite unfortunate. I buy something and then I always think "what's next?". Every few months I go through my closet and take out the things that no longer fit, or that I don't like any more. And I also re-discover old things that I had forgotten about and I make a point to give them another spin. Maybe this is a method that one could use in their lives and relationships. Look at who you have around you, do these people still fit? are they still as fabulous as you thought they were at the beginning? what kind of new people do you need to add a new dimension to your life? what people have you forgotten or neglected? There is only so much room in your wardrobe, and only so many hours and days in your life. Fill them with things and people that give you joy and take very good care of them so they last forever. Love. x