Are You Waiting To Be Happy?

How To Be Happy Now – Not in the Future!

 

Are You Waiting To Be Happy

Are You Always Waiting To Get On The Next Train BEFORE You Can Become Happy?

Are you one of those people who think they will be happy when one more thing happens to or for them? Are you always waiting for that one thing to come along that will REALLY make you be happy? Are you always waiting to get on the next train of life – the one that you’ve actually be waiting for? If that’s you even in the slightest then you will want to read this article and really digest what it is telling you.

Common Things That we Are Waiting For in Order To Be Happy:

  • The perfect partner.
  • A more fulfilling job.
  • More children.
  • Another 5 pounds of weight loss.
  • Not having to work anymore.
  • Free time 24/7 to do what we want.
  • Millions of dollars.
  • The recognition that we deserve.
  • Someone to be nice to us.
  • Someone to change their mind.
This list goes on and on. There can always be something that we think will make us happier than we are now –especially if we are not happy where we are now.

The problem with all these wants and desires that are going to make us be happy, is that when they actually come around we don’t feel any happier!

I was reading a study the other day about lottery winners. Most felt extremely happy for a short time in the beginning and then within a year or two they were wishing they would have never won the lottery because they were so unhappy! I bet you they were wondering how to be happy!

The truth is,  when we finally get what will make us be happy we may have a fleeting moment of satisfaction, or we may even experience disappointment because the moment isn’t as great as we thought it would be; either way that moment soon passes and we are left dissatisfied again, and then we feel as though we would be happy if…

And on and on it goes.

Why Happiness is Always One Step Away

There has been research done about humans and their predictions for what will make them be happy. It turns out we are not very good at picking the things that are going to make us happier. Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard psychology professor, has proven that we overestimate how happy we will actually be when we get the very thing that’s supposed to make us happy. Turns out our imagination doesn’t equal reality.

The letdown of not being as happy as we are supposed to be pushes us to find something that WILL make us happier. We want to feel that imagined joy and bliss that we created waiting for our last goal to be achieved, and so we make a new goal in our lives that is supposed to create happiness. And then we wait some more!

How To Be Happy With What You Have


So what’s the answer to how to be happy?  Be happy now. Appreciate the things that are in your life now and really feel good about them.

Try laughing for no reason, try smiling at the little things, try enjoying your talk with your friend, lover, or family member –just enjoy being in the now.

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t look forward to achieving goals, improving your life, and all the personal growth you have coming to you in the future, and the happiness that will bring  – it just means that those future events don’t define your happiness now. If you let them define how happy you are, then you will always be waiting for happiness and you will never actually be happy.

Don’t do that! Be happy now.

10 Different Tips on How to Be Happy Right Now

1. Change the Way You Think

If you are constantly thinking about the future or the past then it can be easy to get stuck in a rut of being unhappy. Why? Because living in the past puts your focus on regret and living in the future puts your focus on anxiety and worry. How can you be happy when you are regretful, anxious, or worried?

The solution is to focus on the present. Live in the moment. Take joy in the day that you are living and appreciate that there may not be a tomorrow to worry about. When you live in the present you focus on things that bring you happiness and you recognize the blessings that you have right now.

Many people who experience near death or a tragedy will automatically pick up this mind-set of living in the moment. They enjoy what they have and they stop taking life for granted. Don’t wait until tragedy strikes to get into this mind-set. Enjoy today…today.

2. Use a Journal or Gratitude Journal

I personally think that any kind of journal writing is good for you. It lets you see your thoughts on paper and judge whether they are really worthy of being upset about. Sometimes after a horrible day I’ll write down the things I thought made me upset and I will end up laughing about how silly they really are. Writing in a journal can put things into perspective.

A gratitude journal on the other hand should not be about the bad things in your day, but rather it should only be about the things you are grateful for in your day. It can allow you to quickly see how many blessings you have that you didn’t notice before, and the effect of that awareness can overfill into your next day and the next day after that.

3. Decide What Matters Most in Life

A great way to really see what’s important in your life is to picture yourself at the end of your life. Decide whether that little misunderstanding or that rude person is going to matter when you look back at your life. Chances are that they are not.

The things that matter in life are happiness, love, and peace. Feeling good about yourself and treating others with respect and love should be things that you strive to do every day. When you look back on your life wouldn’t you rather see a life full of purpose that was enjoyed to its fullest? In the end that’s what really matters – that you saw the good and enjoyed it while you could.

4. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

It’s so easy to get worked up over little things and let them drag you into a pit of unhappiness, but if you want to be happy in life you have to learn to let go of the little things and move past them. If you hold onto them too tight then they can turn into bigger things or wasted time in your life.

For example, if you get cut off in traffic do not make it into an issue of gigantic proportions. You are not doing yourself any good by blowing up over the incident and it may cause you to waste your time complaining about the situation. You don’t know if that person was racing to see their dying father or if they were just a jerk. Either way, don’t let them affect your day, week, or life.

5. Get it Over With

If you are not happy because you have to do something that you don’t want to do, and there is no way out of it, then don’t drag it on forever – instead get it over with! Procrastination can drain your energy and exhaust your mind. When you think and worry about something that you have to do you are causing yourself to be unhappy. Take action, avoid procrastination, and be happy.

6. Change up Your Life

If you are not happy with your daily life then try changing up your routine. Life can become somewhat of a chore when you are doing things that don’t make you happy day after day, but if change up your life and do things that cause you to be happy then you don’t have to worry about that.

If you ever find yourself saying “I hate doing this” then you may need to stop doing whatever you are doing. So many people say that’s easier said than done, but that’s not true. If you hate doing your job then why can’t you go out and find another job? Why do you have to stay in your job for your entire life if you hate it? You can’t be happy if you hate doing what you are doing – in any area of your life, so don’t do what you hate. Only do what you love.

7. Don’t Compare Yourself

Do you find that you feel like you are not good enough? This is probably because you are comparing yourself to other people. For instance, if your neighbor gets a new boat do you feel as though in order to be happy you need to get something similar if not the same? This is common. It’s called trying to keep up with what we think will make us happy.

The truth is you will not be happy because you are like someone else or because you have what someone else has. That’s not happiness. That’s called cloning. Happiness is enjoying what you have and understanding that you are perfect the way you are. When you understand that, and feel it, you will really be happy.

8. Add No To Your Vocabulary

This has allowed me to be happy in ways I couldn’t understand before. Instead of saying yes to something that I absolutely did not want to do or have time for I’ve learned to say no, and this has reduced my stress, allowed me to feel like I’m standing up for myself, and most importantly gotten me out of some dreadful situations. Don’t be scared to say no if you don’t want to do something. People will understand that you are not always at their beck and call, and if they don’t then they are probably yes people themselves and are jealous of you being able to say no.

9. Appreciate Your Relationships

Whether you are married, in a relationship, or just have some of the best friends in the world, appreciate your relationships. Your closest allies are there to help you be happy and feel good about yourself and the more you appreciate them and nurture those relationship the happier you can be.

10. Don’t Bottle Up Your Emotions

There are a lot of people who don’t react to situations that demand reactions. If you are one of these people then you have to know that bottling up your emotions so that nobody has to deal with them but you is not the way to be happy. Trying to pretend that you are dealing with everything okay is not going to make everything be okay! Holding in emotions is a good way to raise your stress level and blood pressure, and it can also cause health problems in your life if you do it too often.

Instead of bottling up your emotions try writing them down in a journal, crying, screaming into your pillow, or just talking it out with a close friend. You will feel better the instant you get the emotion out of you and you will find it easier to be happy after an emotional event.

About Kari

Kari is the main writer behind Manifest Connection, a blog that focuses on personal growth of the mind, body, and soul - including how to be happy.

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