When Happiness Isn’t Happening

Have you ever felt like happiness just wasn’t happening to you? Maybe you’ve felt out of place when everyone around you seems to be full of joy and living life to the fullest. We all experience periods of sadness but it’s what you do about those moments of sadness that matters the most. Knowing how to create your own happiness is an essential part of reaching your true potential. Your ability to create happiness can not only reduce current sadness, it can also prevent some future unhappiness too.

Take Control:

Some people believe that life just happens to them; others believe that they are a force that happens to life. The former describes people with an external locus of control and the latter describes people with an internal locus of control. A person’s locus of control determines how they interpret the impact of their actions on their life. People with an internal locus of control are typically happier because they believe that they can control the majority of the things in their lives. The first step is believing that you have the ability to create a life you can be happy in.

Enjoy the Journey:

How many times have you caught yourself saying, “I would be happy if I could just…”? Many people believe that they will be happy if they purchase, achieve, or obtain certain things. Unfortunately, a lot of those people find themselves sorely disappointed once they attain whatever they were dreaming of. This is because they were looking to an external thing to make them happy. But happiness is something that comes from within. It may feel good to reach a goal, but it’s important that you enjoy the process of reaching the goal too. People who are really happy are able to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.

Take Steps Toward Happiness:

The saying goes, “If you want to win the lottery, you must at least buy a ticket.” The same thing goes with happiness: if you really want to be happy, you need to take steps toward happiness. Some situations can’t be fixed such as failing an exam, or being dumped by a significant other. Though there is nothing that can turn your F into an A, you can still take steps toward happiness. This might look like asking yourself, “Even if I can’t fix this, what could I do that would be a step in the right direction? What can I do to improve myself?” Though you can’t fix every situation, you can definitely improve almost all of them.

Avoid Procrastination:

A shocking 20% of people are chronic procrastinators. If you know you’re a procrastinator, this habit might be standing in the way of your true potential. People who procrastinate often struggle to live in the moment because they’re stressing about the project they’ve put off until the last minute. Obviously, they’re stressed at the last minute too when the project is finally due. Since there are usually multiple things due at the last minute, people who chronically procrastinate can become very overwhelmed.

Happiness isn’t something that just happens; happiness is something that you create in your life. It’s so important for people to take steps toward promoting their mental health and life satisfaction. As a human being, you deserve to be happy and fulfilled. And the first step toward finding that fulfillment is creating happiness within yourself.