Give up the sighs and be happy
Life’s too short to be unhappy so follow these tips for happiness, writes Erin Reilly.
If your day is filled with more sighs than smiles, it might be time to re-evaluate your life.
Let’s not beat around the bush here: sometimes life is belowaverage. Jobs we don’t like, places we don’t like living, unhealthy lifestyles, unhealthy relationships, no relationships at all… Where there’s discontentment, there’s also a feeling of unfulfilment, which usually culminates in an overall feeling of dissatisfaction in life.
Keen to infuse 2018 with a bit more happiness? Here are a few tips.
HANG AROUND PEOPLE WHO MAKE YOU SMILE
Take a good long look at the state of your relationships. If you have a partner or friend who always makes you feel bad about yourself, it might be time to find new friends.
Cutting people from your life isn’t nice or easy, but eradicating the negativity is an invitation for positivity to fill the gaps.
THINK GLASS-HALF-FULL
The fact is, life happens – and sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it. Pick yourself up, shake yourself off, and choose to think positively. Stop letting life get you down; try to find a glimmer of positivity in even the darkest of days.
FIND A JOB YOU LOVE
If you don’t like your job, fix it. You might not earn enough, or maybe you work really long hours. Ask for a pay rise or talk to your manager about unrealistic expectations. The change might need to be more drastic than that; maybe you need to quit your job and find another – or go out on your own. Be brave and take your future into your own hands – because no one else will do it.
FORGIVE
Terrible things happen to some people – it’s true. But what’s also true is the impact unforgiveness can have on the people the terrible things happened to.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting what happened or pretending it wasn’t as serious as it was; it’s a choice that enables you to regain control of your life, because a bad experience does not define you – you do.
JOIN A GROUP OR FIND A HOBBY
Belonging to a group of likeminded people not only fills your spare minutes, it also connects you with people who love you just the way you are.
Churches, fitness clubs, new mums’ groups, book clubs … there are so many groups and organisations out there ready to open their arms to one more person.
Not sure where to find a group that suits you? Ask your Neighbourly community.
PRIORITISE THE THINGS YOU LOVE
If you love how strolling along the beach or pumping iron makes you feel, commit to making more time in your life for them.
You might have to get up an hour earlier or sacrifice another area of your life to squeeze in the things you love to do, but if you can’t do the things you love, what is the purpose of life, right?