Although there are many general things that we can do to make ourselves feel happier, at the end of the day, everyone’s own definition of happiness is unique. Some may feel happy from receiving a present, while others may feel happy from giving one.
Here are the things that you need to do to be able to have an exciting, wonderful life.
1. Never Look Back At Past Mistakes
There is a famous quote by Soren Kierkegaard -“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”
It is true that difficult experiences in life can be used as feedback in order not to repeat the same mistake twice. But unfortunately, so many of us tend to rely on these experiences as proof that we are incapable of doing something wonderful in the present.
This is a very wrong approach. Instead of learning the valuable lesson from things that have been passed, we hold ourselves back from experiencing amazing things and changing our life for the better.
Instead of taking that new leap in life, we feel that we might fail in something just because we have failed in it once before. Just think about all those individuals that never gave up despite not succeeding over and over.
When Thomas Edison was asked by a reporter how he had felt about failing a thousand times when creating the lightbulb, Edison replied that he never failed, the lightbulb was an invention that needed a thousand steps.
As an exercise, sit down and think about all of those moments when you used your past experiences to hold you back from doing something outside of your comfort zone. If you think about it for while, you will notice that there are quite a few.
I know I have plenty. Therefore, never look back feeling that you should have done something differently. Rather look back, enjoy the fact that it is in the past, and start moving towards your dreams!
2. Don’t Care What Anyone Thinks Or Says
If you want to live a life that is truly wonderful, you must learn not to care what other people think of you. There will always be moments when others will not accept the things that you do, even if these things make you and the people around you happy.
If you have been living your life in a certain way, that is how people are used to seeing you. If you all of a sudden decide to make serious changes in your life, that will mean changes in you for others as well.
The people around you, unlike you, will not be ready for your changes. Unawarely, they may try to hold you back. Others might even want you to fail. It is in our nature to be selfish.
None of this should hold you back from doing things that you feel you must do in order to have a wonderful life. In the end, it is your life, and not the life of others. If you don’t learn to listen to your heart and not let other people’s opinions influence you, you will not be able to make those necessary steps.
3. It’s Never Too Late To Change
One of the most common limiting beliefs that people have, especially the older generations, is that we are too old to change. I desperately ask you to leave this limiting belief behind you. If you do some research, you will find thousands of examples of people that have achieved something great in a very late stage of life. On the other hand, I know so many people that are in their 30’s that think the same way. “Oh, I am too old for this”, they say.
You have to understand that the only reason why you think you are too old for something is because you are clinging on to numbers and what others will think of you.
You may very well understand that deep down you feel like a 16-year- young boy or girl, but you are nevertheless letting your prejudices control you.
Once again, if you feel that you are too old to learn to play a new instrument, learn to speak a new language or get into a new profession, stop right there.
Don’t analyze it any further. Instead, take action, and let the results speak for themselves. If you say that you are too old to learn a new language, and you didn’t even try, you are definitely not speaking the truth. Limiting beliefs must be overcome if you want to keep living an exciting life.
4. There Is No Failure Only Feedback
No matter what you decide to do in life, be it starting a new business, getting into a new sport or a relationship, don’t face it with the idea that nothing can go wrong. The goal is not to never fail, but to live an enjoyable life in acceptance. Only by trying yourself in many different things, by experimenting, you will be able to find something you love doing.
Only by allowing yourself to try and to fail, you will be able to stay positive and keep on trying new things. The harder you go on yourself in case of failure, the less chance that you will have enough energy to keep getting back up on your feet.
Therefore, always have the mindset that you will try your best in everything that you do, but at the same time, don’t be afraid to fail. The more variation you make, the more exciting your life will get, and as a result, there is a higher chance of facing difficult moments.
But that shouldn’t hold you back. That’s what makes great people great – they are willing to try over and over.
Remember, there is no failure, only feedback I don’t believe that happiness is something that we can once achieve and then get to keep for the rest of our life.
No, I believe that happiness is something that we have to strive for, something that we have to constantly work hard for. Only by leading a proactive life, we will be able to keep experiencing things that will as a consequence add up to our happiness.
Unfortunately, I see very many people that live in milestones: school, college, job, marriage, kids, retirement. Many of these people have artificially created limitations for themselves based on the milestone that they are at.
Not only this prevents them from leading a wonderful life, but it holds them back from being happy. I certainly agree that everything that stops growing, begins to die. I think this very well describes human nature as well. We need a purpose in life. In any case, I wish that you will take action and keep yourself engaged, excited and happy.
Remember, the only thing that holds you back from leading a wonderful life is you yourself. I wish you the best of luck!
