Have you ever struggled to love the life you’re living?

With social media and selfies giving us a peek into the lives of others, sometimes it’s hard to love your life when someone else’s looks so much better.

But real life is beyond the perfect pictures and posed selfies. I can promise you that no one’s life is the picture of perfection you think it is.

But any life can be a happy life if you have the proper mindset.

Here are six reasons to love the life you’re living and how to love your life better.

You’re the author of your own story.

This means that you get to write your own personal story by the choices you make and how you choose to live.

If you want to love the life you’re living, start living a life you love.

Not only do we get to create our own goals, but we have the ability to live out our dreams.

Of course, this requires action on our part, and that can seem overwhelming at times. But you can accomplish anything one step at a time.

When I set out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, I had never even climbed a mountain before. But I climbed the hills in Florida and did all the preparation I could to accomplish that goal.

And in the end, I accomplished that goal just like I accomplish any other goal I set for myself. I did it one step at a time.

Each step you take towards something is one step closer to where you want to be.

You are the only one like you.

We all know there is no one else like us. So why do we try so hard to be someone else?

If you want to love the life you’re living, start by loving yourself.

You are the foundation for everything else you will do in life. Keep your foundation strong by remembering you are valuable. Your contributions are needed.

There is no one else like you in the entire universe.

The world needs what you have to offer. And you have the ability to touch the lives of those around you in a way that only you can do.

We need to spend less time wishing we were someone else and more time doing the things only we can do.

Perfection is a myth.

Perfection is something we’re always chasing, but can never quite catch.

That’s because perfection doesn’t exist!

If you want to love the life you’re living, stop chasing perfection.

We’re human—none of us are free from flaws or defects.

When we give ourselves permission to embrace our humanness, we also give ourselves permission to make mistakes.

Mistakes and failures are what great lives are founded upon. Penicillin, potato chips, the Pacemaker, silly putty, inkjet printers, and Post-it notes were all created by mistake.

Embrace your mistakes. You never know what they may lead to.  

But what you can always be sure of is that every mistake will give you greater experience and growth.

And greater experience and growth will lead to a better life.

There is good in every circumstance.

No matter what circumstance you find yourself in, there is good to be found there.

If you want to love the life you’re living, start seeking out the good.

Every rainstorm has a rainbow, and every trial has a lesson.

What you look for—you are going to find.

If you keep your focus on all the negative things in your life, that’s what you’re going to see a hundred percent of the time.

But if you change your perspective and start looking for the lessons out of life, you are going to find those, too.

And the more you look for the good, the easier it will be to find it.

Train yourself to see the good things in life.

Because, as I said before, you will always find what it is you are looking for.

Happiness is a choice.

As humans, we have an amazing ability to make choices. When we learn to be intentional with our choices, we have a greater ability to shape and define our life.

This is especially true when it comes to choosing to be happy no matter what.

Happiness isn’t just something that happens to you. Happiness is one of those things you get to choose every single day.

If you want to love the life you’re living, choose to be happy with the life you already have.

Too often we think that the grass is greener on the other side. When in reality, the grass is only greener because the owner loved it enough to nurture it.

What do you already have in life that you need to love and nurture?

Choosing happiness is easy when you are grateful for what you have and you’re willing to nurture what is already there.

You’re already making a difference.

In everything you do and say, I hope you recognize the good you are already doing.

No matter who you are, there are people depending on you, watching you, learning from you.

The smile you give a stranger, the text you send a friend, the kindness you show your neighbor—all those little acts of kindness matter. They matter to the people who receive that little bit of you that you are willing to give away.

If you want to love the life you’re living, remember that you’re already making a difference.

Too often we think we have to do something on a grand scale to change the world.

But the small, kind acts you do every day are changing the world right where you are.

The world doesn’t need you to be someone else—the world needs you.

You are enough, exactly as you are.

Learning to love the life you’re living is much easier when you recognize all that is good about the life you already have.

When you love yourself, choose happiness, stop chasing perfection, seek out the good, and remember that you’re already making a difference, you will realize that you really are living a life you already love.