Do you feel like you have been in an endless pursuit for happiness?
Are you feeling as if you’re a lost cause and you’ll always end up unhappy, no matter your choice? This might just be stress acting in your brain and making you feel overwhelmed. Your past and present emotions begin to carve out a future you are worrying about.
But it doesn’t have to be your future. You have the power to be in more control of your life, one step at a time. There are ways on how you can do it and it all begins with changing the way you think and view life.
First off, work on reducing your stress. Identify your stressors and think of ways on how you can each reduce them. For instance, you can think of a better way to manage your time. When you are more efficient with your hours, you get more things done and you allow yourself to move forward. You can also exercise regularly so that your body could release happy hormones and let go of that stress. Take deep breaths too to instantly relieve you from stress.
Next is to remind yourself to enjoy and to do things that spark joy in you. You know the feeling of being happy because you know how it feels to be sad. This means that you know the things that make you enjoy life. Is it traveling to another country? Is it having a food trip with your loved ones? Is it getting reunited with a long lost friend? Is it alone time playing the piano or drawing a sketch? Take time to enjoy and. Live in the moment. There are some things though that you might enjoy but you regret afterwards. You might enjoy getting drunk with your friends but this can only worsen your stress and anxiety so try to avoid alcohol first or at least manage your drinking to a healthy level.
You’ll also be in a much better and happier state if you love yourself. Build your confidence. Embrace your flaws. Do not compare yourself with other people and focus on what you want to do and be committed to doing them. Do not bring yourself down when you feel stupid, inadequate or that your feelings are not valid. Love yourself and the rest will follow. Talk to yourself in a positive way and try to see the silver lining in everything instead of focusing on the bad things that you feel are happening in your life.
Strive to be healthy. Your mind and body are one so whatever you feed into your body will affect the way your brain thinks. You might think that you want to be numb so you drink to forget but it can only worsen your depression or anxiety. Resort to healthy habits instead of running to doing things that are bad for your health. You might also think that junk food will give you happiness but in reality, it just makes you feel more bad. Have a well-balanced diet instead. Say you may start with shopping for fruits instead of going to the junk food aisle in the grocery store.
Do not forget to exercise as well. No matter how busy you get, you can always do a bit of exercise which will help you manage stress. Exercise has the power to boost your mood and increase the size of your brain, making it function better. To be consistent with exercise, choose one that you enjoy. You won’t go jogging every other day if you just feel it’s dragging and not fun. But if you go spinning for example, an exercise that you enjoy, then you will keep coming back like it’s a health drug that has been helping you to cope.
You also get to have a better quality of sleep which is very important for good health. For an adult, you’ll need to have about seven to eight hours of sleep to give your body enough rest.
Be open to expressing yourself. Do not bottle up your feelings because it can suck the best out of you. Communicate to the people you love how you’ve been feeling lately. Release your stress and tension by sharing your thoughts and emotions. It can only strengthen your relationships on both ends. Just remember to ask consent if the person has space to hear you out. You can also get professional help if you’ve been struggling with your mental health.
Be mentally resilient. You need to have the mental fortitude to go through life. The reality of life is that it’s not going to be happy all the time. The downs are part of your crazy ride here on Earth. According to the NHS UK, take that pain you’re feeling right now and turn it into something beautiful. You might write a song that can be tomorrow’s anthem. You might want to paint or cook. Release and do good by creating a support system. Remember, you are stronger than your pain and you can heal from it, one step at a time.
Invest in the right tools. Sometimes, there’s just no will left in you to keep moving forward. This is when tools that surround you come in handy. Somehow, you’ll be forced to move or to focus because these tools are in your arsenal that help you do little tasks everyday even if you are not feeling like yourself. Ergonomic pieces for example can protect your health and give you an overall better well-being. You get to finish your tasks for the day in a dedicated ergonomic workspace with more gusto and grit.
Final Word
Life is a constant search for happiness. Just because it’s elusive, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Oftentimes, we are just bombarded with dark thoughts that are clouding our everyday decisions and behavior. But once we have a clearer headspace, we’ll realize that happiness has always been there, it was just waiting for us to notice it and welcome it to our lives. Just as you have every right to be sad, you also have every right to be happy.
