If you ask people what their biggest goal is in life, many will tell you that it is ‘to be happy’. But, what does happiness mean? The truth is that happiness is something experienced differently for every person.
Like Personal Growth on Facebook
Some people see happiness as having extra time at the end of the work week to spend with their family, while others are focused on success.
The problem with this goal of happiness is that even when people achieve the things they want, they cannot always feel happy about it.
If you are experiencing the blues, here are some quick ways to shake off your sadness so you can start enjoying life again.
1. Remember To Celebrate Success
Goals are great for keeping us on track when we want to achieve something within a certain timeframe. Unfortunately, if you become too goal-oriented, you do not leave yourself enough time to be happy with what you have.
Often, when people finish a goal, they are ready to move onto the next step. Instead, take a day or two between to revel in what you have accomplished.
By doing this, you learn to be appreciative of what you have—instead of whatever goal is going to make you happier in the future.
2. Pay Attention To Your Self-Talk
One of the biggest problems that people face is the way they speak to themselves. This is because many people have automatic negative thoughts, which are unhelpful (and sometimes hurtful) ideas that seem to come from nowhere.
These are often off-putting, insisting that someone does not like you because they passed without saying ‘hello’ or that nothing you do is good enough to get a promotion at work.
If you are talking down to yourself, it causes you to lose help and contributes to sadness. Instead of accepting these thoughts as true, oppose them. Give examples of situations that prove that the opposite of the thought is true.
For example, if your mind tells you that you are selfish after declining to help a coworker so you could get some rest over the weekend, think of times where you were helpful.
3. Take Time To Relax
Relaxation is a critical part of any happy, successful person’s life. When you do not take time to relax, it causes stress to build up until your mind reaches a breaking point.
This can lead to extreme feelings of being overwhelmed and sadness, as you realize you are not meeting the expectations you have set for yourself.
Even though it can be tempting to work harder under times of stress, remember to give your mind frequent breaks.
You should take breaks while working, as well as full mental breaks where you do an activity that is enjoyable to you.
This could include a night out with your significant other or friends, walking in nature, or relaxing in a hot bubble bath.
4. Laugh
Laughter has been proven to boost mood because it releases serotonin, endorphins, and other feel-good hormones into the brain.
This makes laughter an important part of any happy person’s mental diet. Laughing with another person is great.
If you do not have anyone to swap jokes with, consider watching a funny movie or going to a comedy club with a friend or your partner.
5. Think Of The Positives
In life, it is incredibly easy to think only of the negative things that have happened. For example, you may be lectured by your boss and spend your night obsessing over that, rather than focusing on the new client that you brought to the company after that.
By ignoring the positives, you are not giving yourself a chance to be happy and you are welcoming sadness into your life.
At the end of each day, set aside time before bed to reflect on the good things that happened that day. If you have trouble remembering, consider carrying around a notebook to jot things down as they happen throughout the day.
The first thing that you must do when experiencing sadness is refuse to accept it. The only thing that you must do is put the strategies discussed above into practice.
After finding which works best for you, you will become a happier, better version of yourself.
If you want to explore further what true happiness is and how to embody it then let these quotes about being happy from inspirational people show you how.
