Would you be happy if you won the lottery?
How about if George Clooney or Monica Belluci asked you to spend the night?
What if you were taller, thinner, faster, smarter or simply better at every thing you did?
Truth is, many people wait for happiness to happen to them, and end up squandering all the millions of seconds they could be using to make themselves truly happy, inside and out.
Most people don’t believe that we have the power to actively change their state from miserable and morose to happy and satisfied. And the kicker is, it doesn’t too much effort to change states naturally.
The real challenge is having the faith to try.
1. You’re putting off doing things that would make you feel better until you feel better. It’s a vicious circle – you don’t like the way you look, so you avoid social interaction. But this makes you feel more isolated, while making it more difficult to become motivated or make positive changes in your life.
What would happen if you did the things you wanted to do now instead of waiting for some time in the future when you feel like you’ll be “better”? Why put off doing those things that will help you feel more joy, more confidence and more alive?
2. You think only BIG efforts count. Have you ever heard someone going through a laundry list of reasons why they can’t work out, then peer at you with incredulous eyes when you suggest simply heading outside for a stroll, rather than waiting until they can afford a gym membership and personal trainer?
We often ignore the little things we could do to set us in a better state because we mistakenly feel that only the big stuff counts.
3. You believe there is only one truth to a situation. I can’t count the number of arguments I’ve had with people when I’ve attempted to “re-frame” their situation by helping them change their perspective.
For example, if you don’t get the job you interviewed for, you can decide it’s because you suck and the interviewer was determined to see you fail, or you could see the situation as positive learning experience and that it’s a good sign you’re still moving forward.
There is no absolute “truth” to any situation. There are the facts, yes, but there are plenty of ways to perceive at them. The choice is yours, so choose the one that makes you feel more confident, motivated, and better overall. This is not self delusion or being a Pollyanna, it’s making a conscious decision to look at things in a more positive way.
You can naturally change you state and improve you mood, the trick is recognizing it’s in your power to do so. Once you’ve gotten over that hurdle – and for many it is a massive hurdle indeed – you will be on your way to being truly happy (even when things aren’t going your way).