Being happy can sometimes be hard to experience, especially with all the noise and negativity surrounding us. However, is it proper to seek happiness, to chase it? Or should we just let it flow into our lives?
We hope that this article can help you get a better understanding of this matter!
Should You Chase Happiness?
According to research findings, happiness is not the only factor that determines success, and those who pursue it as though it were the only thing that mattered run the risk of becoming dissatisfied.
What Does It Mean To Chase Happiness?
Pursuing true happiness necessitates avoiding unpleasant experiences such as stress, anger, conflict, difficulty, and other negative emotions. However, self-centeredness in pursuing happiness eventually leads to our suffering.
How Do I Stop Chasing Happiness?
Let go of the desire to seek happiness to find true contentment and happy life.
If you want to be happy, you must understand that it is something you create through wondrous moments or even just one blissful moment, not something you strive for. In many ways, thankfulness and contentment are similar.
To be grateful, one must practice gratitude their whole life, not only when they feel grateful. Doing work that makes you happy daily is the only way to achieve contentment.
How Can I Be Happy Without Chasing Happiness?
1. Take The Word “Happy” From Your Vocabulary
People use words to convey ideas. However, this may lead to confusion, stifling, or even dangerous situations when one phrase is overused.
If you want to convey or express your feelings to yourself and others, here are some words you should include in your vocabulary. Avoid the misconception that you must participate in every human experience; you do not.
Asking yourself, “Do I have (insert word) ?” is a much better substitute for “Am I happy?”.
- Contentment
- Laughter
- Enjoyment
- Peace of mind
- Well-being
- Playfulness
- Cheerfulness
- Hopefulness
- Blessedness
2. Practice Living In The Present
Indeed, it’s not simple to let go of the past and future anxieties, but it’s the quickest way to have a rich and fulfilling life. Think of each moment as a distinct chapter in your life’s story, and appreciate it for what it is; doing so will make all the difference.
As a short motto, “Be here now” is a good one to remember.
3. Decide What You Want To Do
“Shiny object syndrome” is a common issue for those looking for happiness. This happens when individuals keep changing their focus from one goal to the next because they’re searching for a solution to their pain and other negative feelings.
4. Let Go Of Unrealistic Expectations About How Happy You’re Supposed To Be
People have had it tough for most of human history. There is a new belief that you must always be cheerful.
Even though you should aspire to have a fulfilling and enjoyable life, it is more common and acceptable to live an average life accented by fleeting moments of happiness.
5. Take Small Daily Steps
The best way to start moving toward your goals is to tackle tiny, manageable steps every day to come closer to achieving them
Instead of creating big, unrealistic goals
you’ll never achieve, aim for smaller, more manageable ones that you can accomplish and are a good indication that you’re on the right path. Doing so will harbor more positive emotions in achieving your main goal.
6. Make Serving Others A Regular Habit
The tendency for unhappy individuals to be very self-centered is a trait that goes mostly unmentioned.
This in no way implies that they are deplorable individuals. It simply means they spend time preoccupied with themselves to an excessive degree.
7. Separate Your Happiness From Your Achievements
To be happy, we must be able to detach ourselves from our successes. Our innate sense of self-worth lets us be pleased with our unique life.
Although it is true that happiness fuels success and that there is a deep sense of pride that comes with it, the lack of success doesn’t mean that you are not happy.
8. Don’t Force Yourself To Be Always Happy
Many people in the self-help and spiritual communities advocate for the importance of maintaining a positive outlook. This isn’t usually the greatest advice, unfortunately.
Being positive while in a good mood is preferable to being positive when you’re in a bad mood! This can only make you and those around you feel uncomfortable.
9. Remove Things That Prevent Happiness
Finding the things that bring you joy is not as essential as removing the things that make you unhappy.
Do you find yourself in a toxic relationship?
Do you hate your current job?
Are you always consuming junk and processed foods?
Before you begin searching for happiness, you must eliminate all of these things. Otherwise, you will never be happy.
Having basic needs is sometimes enough to make one happy. They don’t need to be famous or have more money than others. Having such a mentality that you should always be superior to others can only result in social misunderstandings and ultimately make one unhappy.
10. Be Okay With Being Okay
Whenever people ask questions like, “How’s your work?” How’s the new town going? “How’s the love life going for you two?”
What do you tell them? Although something may not be “incredibly great,” don’t you find yourself saying something like, “It’s amazing!”
Because we’ve been socialized to believe that only the best will do, most of us don’t consider “okay” to be good enough.
11. Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone
In addition to boosting your self-esteem, pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone releases a flood of feel-good endorphins and adrenaline into your brain.
12. Look After Your Body.
Treating your body with respect is the best way to feel happiness and contentment, so don’t neglect it!
Isn’t it best to savor a wonderful moment with a body as fit as a fiddle?
Final Words:
This manner of thinking has altered my perspective on the world. As a result, it helped me break out of the “when this happens. I’ll be happy” mentality.
I’m more relaxed, focused, and confident. As a result, I am no longer hurrying to go somewhere or looking for the next great event to happen to me.
Instead, I’m enjoying the process of “figuring things out” daily, and personal development has resulted.
I’m still goal-oriented and have a long list of accomplishments in mind. The only difference is that regardless of whether I achieve my objectives, I’ve learned that happiness isn’t determined by the outcomes but rather by the goals themselves.
Goals and contentment are not the same things.
