Edition: August 5th, 2021
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
- Excerpts from article by Nicole Fuentes, published on Entrepreneur.com
Happiness slips away from us in various ways. Very often we are robbed by the difficulties of daily life. At other times, depression, anxiety or chronic health problems hijack it. But happiness also leaves us when we live in a hurry, executing tasks and solving tasks as if we were on an assembly line.
We go through the days without stopping to think about the important issues and travel on autopilot. We let our habits take over, even though they, sometimes, lead us down paths that deteriorate our emotional well-being.
It’s important to remember that we have control over many things that influence our happiness.
Here are 10 ideas to help you identify how you could be losing your happiness and what you can do to fix it:
1. You are already happy but you haven’t realised it
- Believing that you should be even happier, when you already feel happy, ironically could make you less happy.
- Wanting to be a perfect 10 on the happiness scale, when you’re already a solid 8 or 9, can generate unnecessary dissatisfaction.
- Sometimes, the secret is simply to recognise that.
2. You don’t know what makes you happy
- We often use pre-made molds instead of a custom-made suit and we believe that what makes others happy will make us happy too.
- Take a moment to reflect on the following questions: What activities, people, places and experiences translate into happiness for you? How can you integrate them into your daily routine?
- Identify what you like and do it more often.
3. You view life through a lens of scarcity
- We are very good at detecting faults, what we do not have or cannot do.
- Gratitude is the perfect antidote to this habit.
- Notice the good things that happen to you, what you do have, what you can do and the people supporting you and contributing positively in your life.
- Gratitude allows you to view life through a lens of abundance.
4. You compare yourself with others
- No matter how good you are there will always be someone a little better.
- There is no way to win this competition of life.
- Make an effort not to fall into the game of social comparisons. They are toxic.
- Instead, practise gratitude regarding what you have and who you are.
5. You neglect your social ties or are alone
- To be happy there is nothing more essential than our social ties.
- If you suddenly find yourself lonely and sad, make an effort to change your situation.
- Look for social environments where you can find people with the same tastes and values, and create opportunities to socialise.
- Take care of your relationship with the most important people in your life. Ironically, they are the ones we neglect the most.
6. You spend time with unhappy or toxic people
- Emotions are contagious.
- Our well-being is heavily influenced by the people with whom we spend the most time.
- If your friends or family are a constant source of negativity it is time to reduce your contact with them and look for more positive people.
7. You don’t take care of your body
- Our body is the only place we have to live.
- It is difficult to be happy when our health is not good or we do not have the energy to do what we have to do.
- Exercising, eating healthy and getting enough sleep is key to taking care of our well-being.
- They are also the cheapest and most efficient preventive tools for a healthy life.
8. You do not inhabit the present
- The happiest people live and enjoy the present moment.
- Spending a lot of time reminiscing about the past creates feelings of nostalgia and depression; while constantly thinking about the future produces anxiety.
- Take breaks and engage your senses to notice the beauty around you.
- This moment is what you have available right now.
9. You fall into the ‘when’ trap
- Do you leave happiness for later or for when a certain condition is met? Like you will be happy when you get married, go on a vacation, get a promotion or get a new car.
- Thinking in this way makes happiness always one step ahead or around the corner.
- Take a few moments or a few days to enjoy the goals you achieve, the objectives you meet.
- Don’t put off happiness.
10. You have not found the purpose of your life
- The happiest people can articulate in a short sentence, the reason why they get up every morning – not counting the alarm clock.
- When we are not clear about where we want to go, we can go everywhere.
- Our life purpose is at the intersection of what we are passionate about, what we know how to do, our values, personal strengths and sense of transcendence.
- Take time to reflect on these and your life purpose. If you are clear about it, happiness will begin to take shape.
Life circumstances can reduce our happiness, but a part of our happiness or lack of it depends on what we do and think every day.
If you discovered on this list a corner where happiness is escaping you, make sure you seal it.
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(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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