Happiness. A simple word yet so hard to achieve. We face a lot of struggles in life and I’m sure that everybody goes through a time of unhappiness in his or her life. Nobody is perfect and so isn’t anybody’s life. We tend to let others get us down, compare ourselves to other people, often oblivious that their life has imperfections as well. And in the end it is important to be challenged in life, to fail and to learn from mistakes and from situations in which you struggled. But still, we can try to make the best of bad situations and of life in general. I’m in no way an expert when it comes to achieving happiness but life taught me a thing or two I’d like to share with you, I hope you’ll find this helpful.
I think it is helpful to get a certain routine you enjoy - this might especially help if you are a rather anxious person. I feel like it’s really helpful to include activities you like into your daily routine because it gives you a feeling of stability and brightens up your day as well - even if it’s just having a cup of your favourite tea in the morning or reading blogs before going to bed or watching an episode of your favourite series in the evening. Speaking of that I think it’s equally important to be kind to yourself. Give yourself a break from time to time, have a pampering evening or take a whole Sunday off and spend the day having pizza in bed or watching movies.
Another thing is setting goals - it helps you to stay focused on what you’d like to achieve. And don’t forget to treat yourself to something nice once you have achieved what you worked for, however small your personal success is. I find it very helpful to keep a book in which you can express your goals in life - it will make you proud to read about your achievements later. An achievement does not have to appear big, it might even be just a good day with friends after a difficult time in life. Speaking of books, I also like to write about things I enjoy doing or I would love to do (as it helps you to focus on the great opportunities life offers instead of dwelling on the bad things) or the things that are particularly positive about your life - sometimes we spend too much time looking at what we don’t have or what isn’t working out in life instead of being grateful for the good things - even if you are crossing through a hard period in your life you might still have great friends who got your back or a vacation to look forward to, a good job or a family that supports you.
Sometimes it’s important to think about which aspects of your life actually make you happy. Because even though we don’t always have a choice we often do, we can choose the people in our life, the people who got an impact on us. If someone doesn’t make you happy, let that person go. If that person works at the same place as you then choose not to let that person’s negativity get you down - don’t give negative people the right to pull you down and don’t let anyone stand between you and your happiness. Same thing goes for hobbies or your daily routine - if something does not make you happy and can be changed, change it. In the end it is your life and you get to choose how to live it. Make your own feelings top priority. Because your happiness is just as important as anybody’s else. So don’t do something just to please others. And don’t let other people’s opinions get to you - often they act according to their own experiences and their reaction does not even have anything to do with you personally. Everybody has experienced different things and you should keep that in mind before judging, it might help to understand the way people act.
Last but not least I can only say: Seize the day, try to say yes to new opportunities. I know it’s tempting to stay inside your comfort zone but it’s the things outside your usual sphere that really boost your self-confidence and shape your personality massively. Avoiding something because you’re afraid won’t help - instead try to say yes, even if things don’t work out, it’s always worth trying and sometimes new opportunities lead to amazing changes in your life. You might say yes to going a party you’re not sure about and you might have an amazing night. And meet new people. Maybe even get new friends. Saying yes to things might open a whole new world. Think of all the things you’re missing out on - you don’t want to look back regretting that you didn’t take the opportunities life offered. I know it can be very scary to change your attitude but believe me, it’s worth it. Sometimes you just have to stop and ask yourself : What is the worst that could happen if I say yes? Anxiety is not always rational. And confronting your fears is better than avoiding your problems, we shouldn’t let anything or anyone hold us back. We only got this life, so we’d better make the best out of it.
Anyway, I hope this might have helped some of you. :) x
