We all desire to be happy. However, in the race of life, we’re all so busy competing for a position or making a name for ourselves that we miss out on the things that make us happy.
No matter what you achieve, your life won’t be satisfying until you’re truly happy. Many things can keep you from being happy—your career or relationships, for example. And the problem is, people often don’t make happiness a priority in their daily lives.
If you think you might be one of those people, here are just a few signs that suggest you’re too busy to find your happiness.
You’re in a career you hate
You’ve always wanted to do something else with your life, but you’re stuck in a career you were ‘forced’ to choose. You spend more than 40 or 50 hours a week investing your time in something you don’t enjoy. You find yourself despising every moment and counting the seconds until you can leave your workplace.
This time, if used properly, could bring you happiness, but when we’re in a career we don’t like, we forget what makes us happy and presume that this is the way things have to be.
You hang out with negative thinkers
If you spend time with negative-minded people, their negativity can rub off on you, and they may keep you from doing things that you enjoy. People with positive energy spread happiness and like you the way you are, but in the wrong company, you may have to put your energy into pretending to be someone you’re not.
We all do it—wear ‘masks’ in order to become more accepted or part of a particular group. Instead of doing this, however, you could consider exploring a different social circle where your true needs and interests would be recognized.
You take on too much stress
If you’re always worrying too much about things you can’t control, how will you find the time to pursue happiness? We feel stressed when we want to do many things, but lack the time and energy to do them.
Due to the busy lives we have nowadays, stress is something we experience on a regular basis. However, there are ways to avoid stress: We can either limit our needs or increase our energy level. You can also eliminate stress and calm yourself down through meditation and other breathing exercises. Remember, stress can only push you further away from happiness, so remaining calm is mandatory.
Your happiness depends on others
If you’re trying to find happiness outside yourself, you’re not going to find it. Your happiness depends on you and you alone. Sometimes, due to our insecurities, we get too involved in trying to please others, but that does nothing for us.
Don’t sit around waiting for approval from other people before you can feel happy about yourself. It’s all a waste of time and energy, and will leave you feeling gloomy. Spend your time impressing yourself, and do things mainly for yourself, not others. This will help you deal with your insecurity and find happiness.
You put work ahead of relationships
Yes, your career is important, but so are the people in your life. When you’re too engrossed in work, you may forget to give time to the people who look out for you and make you happy.
Being with the ones you love is one of the primary sources of fulfillment, so don’t put work before these important people. You need to find a balance between the time you spend on your job and on your loved ones, and that will help you cultivate a sense of happiness.
You’re envious of others
If you’re too busy comparing your life with the lives of others, you’ll never find happiness, as you’ll never feel proud of your achievements. This will cause you to drown in feelings of self-loathing, which will cloud your decisions and actions.
The day you look at your work and achievements without comparing them to those of someone else is the day you’ll be able to assess your abilities honestly.
You don’t practice mindfulness
Your happiness also relies on how aware you are of what you need, and practicing mindfulness can help you develop this kind of awareness.
Being mindful means maintaining awareness of your true feelings, thoughts and sensations, and accepting them without being judgmental. But thanks to your hectic lifestyle, you may always be in a hurry to get somewhere, so you might miss out on giving mindfulness your best effort. Unfortunately, if you don’t have time to assess situations mindfully, you probably won’t end up happy.
It’s up to you and you alone
These are only a few of the most common life patterns that indicate you’re too busy to find your happiness, but the most important thing to remember is that you and you alone need to search for that positive state of mind. Instead of spending time on things that don’t impact your happiness, you can instead choose to spend your time and energy on setting new priorities that will increase your happiness level.
You can be happy if you do the things you love, no matter how big or small, or how subtle or prominent they are—but what you need is time. Make sure you give yourself the time to experience joy, or you may be sorry later.
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[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]Nisha is passionate about writing and loves to share her thoughts with the world. She has written many articles on Yoga, fitness, wellness, various remedies and beauty. She keeps herself up-to-date by going through interesting blogs every day. This fuels her passion and motivates her to write appealing and engaging articles. She’s a regular contributor to StyleCraze.com and a few other websites.
