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5 Mistakes That Will Cause Your Pursuit Of Happiness To Backfire by riloxy(m): 11:39pm On Sep 07, 2015 |
There are a lot of advantages to
being a happy person. Studies
consistently show happy people
enjoy benefits ranging from better
relationships and improved
health to enhanced creativity and
better problem-solving skills.
It seems as though people are
trying harder than ever to be
happy these days. Yet, the pursuit
of happiness doesn’t always have
a happy ending. If you’re making
any of these mistakes, your efforts
to increase your happiness could
backfire:
1. Comparing Yourself to Other
People
It can be tempting to compare
your life to the lives of those
around you – and one of the most
common ways people draw social
comparisons on social media. But,
social media comparisons aren’t a
good yardstick for measuring
happiness. Comparing your life to
someone else’s highlight reel will
undermine your well-being.
Scrolling through Facebook
to view other people’s
vacation photos, doctored selfies,
and proclamations of success can
cause you to think your life
doesn’t measure up. Studies even
show that envying your friends on
Facebook can actually lead to
depression. So rather than turn
your quest for happiness into a
competition, stay focused on your
own journey to a better life.
2. Placing Too Much Emphasis
on Being Happy
A 2011 study concluded, “Valuing
happiness may lead people to be
less happy just when happiness is
within reach.” If you expect that
you ‘should’ be happy, you may
grow discouraged when your
emotions don’t match your
expectations. Self-defeating
thoughts like, “I’ve got a good
marriage, great kids, and a nice
job – I should be happier,” will
cause you to feel worse.
Avoid judging yourself for not
being happy enough. Focus on
enjoying the moment. When you
stop creating emotional
expectations, you’ll experience
more contentment.
3. Putting a Timeline on When
You’ll be Happy
It’s likely everyone has thought a
specific event or change in
circumstances would ignite their
happiness. While one person may
say, “I’ll be happy when I lose
weight,” another might assume,
“I’ll be happy when I’m retired.”
But waiting for – and planning on
– external events to make you
happy will only lead to
disappointment.
Research shows that everyone has
some sort of happiness baseline.
So while a new chapter in your
life may provide an initial boost
to your happiness, the positive
effect will eventually wear off. So
don’t wait until you get married,
have a better job, move to a new
city, or have kids to be happy –
seize the moment and enjoy
today.[b]There are a lot of advantages to
being a happy person. Studies
consistently show happy people
enjoy benefits ranging from better
relationships and improved
health to enhanced creativity and
better problem-solving skills.
It seems as though people are
trying harder than ever to be
happy these days. Yet, the pursuit
of happiness doesn’t always have
a happy ending. If you’re making
any of these mistakes, your efforts
to increase your happiness could
backfire:
1. Comparing Yourself to Other
People
It can be tempting to compare
your life to the lives of those
around you – and one of the most
common ways people draw social
comparisons on social media. But,
social media comparisons aren’t a
good yardstick for measuring
happiness. Comparing your life to
someone else’s highlight reel will
undermine your well-being.
Scrolling through Facebook
to view other people’s
vacation photos, doctored selfies,
and proclamations of success can
cause you to think your life
doesn’t measure up. Studies even
show that envying your friends on
Facebook can actually lead to
depression. So rather than turn
your quest for happiness into a
competition, stay focused on your
own journey to a better life.
2. Placing Too Much Emphasis
on Being Happy
A 2011 study concluded, “Valuing
happiness may lead people to be
less happy just when happiness is
within reach.” If you expect that
you ‘should’ be happy, you may
grow discouraged when your
emotions don’t match your
expectations. Self-defeating
thoughts like, “I’ve got a good
marriage, great kids, and a nice
job – I should be happier,” will
cause you to feel worse.
Avoid judging yourself for not
being happy enough. Focus on
enjoying the moment. When you
stop creating emotional
expectations, you’ll experience
more contentment.
3. Putting a Timeline on When
You’ll be Happy
It’s likely everyone has thought a
specific event or change in
circumstances would ignite their
happiness. While one person may
say, “I’ll be happy when I lose
weight,” another might assume,
“I’ll be happy when I’m retired.”
But waiting for – and planning on
– external events to make you
happy will only lead to
disappointment.
Research shows that everyone has
some sort of happiness baseline.
So while a new chapter in your
life may provide an initial boost
to your happiness, the positive
effect will eventually wear off. So
don’t wait until you get married,
have a better job, move to a new
city, or have kids to be happy –
seize the moment and enjoy
today.[/b]There are a lot of advantages to
being a happy person. Studies
consistently show happy people
enjoy benefits ranging from better
relationships and improved
health to enhanced creativity and
better problem-solving skills.
It seems as though people are
trying harder than ever to be
happy these days. Yet, the pursuit
of happiness doesn’t always have
a happy ending. If you’re making
any of these mistakes, your efforts
to increase your happiness could
backfire:
1. Comparing Yourself to Other
People
It can be tempting to compare
your life to the lives of those
around you – and one of the most
common ways people draw social
comparisons on social media. But,
social media comparisons aren’t a
good yardstick for measuring
happiness. Comparing your life to
someone else’s highlight reel will
undermine your well-being.
Scrolling through Facebook
to view other people’s
vacation photos, doctored selfies,
and proclamations of success can
cause you to think your life
doesn’t measure up. Studies even
show that envying your friends on
Facebook can actually lead to
depression. So rather than turn
your quest for happiness into a
competition, stay focused on your
own journey to a better life.
2. Placing Too Much Emphasis
on Being Happy
A 2011 study concluded, “Valuing
happiness may lead people to be
less happy just when happiness is
within reach.” If you expect that
you ‘should’ be happy, you may
grow discouraged when your
emotions don’t match your
expectations. Self-defeating
thoughts like, “I’ve got a good
marriage, great kids, and a nice
job – I should be happier,” will
cause you to feel worse.
Avoid judging yourself for not
being happy enough. Focus on
enjoying the moment. When you
stop creating emotional
expectations, you’ll experience
more contentment.
3. Putting a Timeline on When
You’ll be Happy
It’s likely everyone has thought a
specific event or change in
circumstances would ignite their
happiness. While one person may
say, “I’ll be happy when I lose
weight,” another might assume,
“I’ll be happy when I’m retired.”
But waiting for – and planning on
– external events to make you
happy will only lead to
disappointment.
Research shows that everyone has
some sort of happiness baseline.
So while a new chapter in your
life may provide an initial boost
to your happiness, the positive
effect will eventually wear off. So
don’t wait until you get married,
have a better job, move to a new
city, or have kids to be happy –
seize the moment and enjoy
today. |
(1) (Reply)
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