It takes making a decision to be happy and subsequently acting on that decision to remain happy. And talking about acting means doing away with things that only make you unhappy. Here are habits you must quit to be happy:
1. Procrastinating: The difference between successful and unsuccessful people is that first work their asses off to succeed, while last only dream of success. So many reasons can make us procrastinate: you could be afraid of the outcome, or unsure how to complete the task, or you just don’t feel like taking action. But the worst thing about doing nothing is nothing changes. At all. And putting something overwhelming off doesn’t make it disappear – it makes it even scarier and harder to do. If procrastination is a habit of yours – get rid of it ASAP. What you need to do is to work on your discipline. Yes, it is hard. Yes, it is stressful. But isn’t doing things at the last moment more stressful? Start with breaking your work on small tasks or periods of time. And don’t concentrate on how you will manage to finish it, think about simply making first step. At first you’ll need to force yourself to get started, but, according to science it takes only 21 day to form a new habit. Start today and in 3 weeks you will become a much happier person.
2. Putting The Blame On Others And Making Excuses At some points in life. we all face problems, troubles, failures and just unhappiness causes. For better or worse, going through tough times is an inevitable part of life. But the difference between everyone of us is HOW we do it. Some people seek for positive moments even in when no one else does. And some choose to blame everyone and everything in the Universe for what goes wrong in their life. But such approach doesn’t only make the situation even more depressing – it holds you from finding the way out of it. If you tend to put the blame on everyone except you – it’s time to admit that you are actually responsible for the things that happen in your life – or at least how you react to some things – and that blaming others will get you nowhere. You and only you are responsible for your life choices and decisions
3. Avoiding Changes However good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. Trying to avoid changes is like trying to avoid sunrise – it still will happen, no matter how hard you try. So just stop. This amazingly useless habit only takes away your energy and makes you worry about everything. Embrace change and realize it happens for a reason. It won’t always be obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.
4. Trying to Control the Uncontrollable: One of the worst habits that stand on your way of becoming happy person is trying to take control on things that are simply could not be controlled. Sometimes we all hate being useless and tend to worry about things that we can’t control anyway. But if it tunes into a habit – you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of frustration and misery. Real life happens. Something you never expected, happens in your life. Chaos at work. Complexity of managing a career. Uncertainty in a relationship.
Accept the simple truth: You control your actions. You control your thoughts. These are things you ought to be worried about – not trying to control the way life will revolve around you. So you have to learn to stop trying so hard to control the uncontrollable. Instead, start focusing on the one thing that can be controlled: you.
5. Devaluing Yourself: Negative self-talk leads to fear, uncertainty, and self-doubt, which leads to – you guessed it – more negative self-talk. The result is a vicious circle We should be our biggest cheerleader. No one out there knows us better than we know ourselves. We have to love ourselves first in order to accept people in our lives worthy of loving us the way we deserve. Stop putting yourself down. The great thing about our voice is that we can choose how we use it. What we say, it is up to us. So relax your standards just a little. If you give yourself the same empathy you’d show a friend, it will be so much easier to become happier.
6. Devaluing Others Criticizing others for the smallest things is devastating – both for you and the people you point your fingers at. Criticism is a destructive behavior that can be stopped easily if you only become aware of it and express an inner will to change it. Stopping the cycle of criticism will enable you to enjoy yourself more around other people, you will be able to deepen your connections with others (especially the ones you love), you will be happier in social situations, and your inner satisfaction about yourself will increase.
7. Allowing Fears Hold You Back: Fear is very much real, and don’t look down on yourself for feeling it; but if you want to have a chance at happiness, you should put fear in its place – behind you. Take that step forward, and don’t let your fear(s) hold you back from doing something that you believe is true or right. In the end, there is only one thing that makes a dream completely impossible to achieve: Lack of action based on the fear of failure.
8. Living In The Past/ Future/ Another Place Not only does being distracted take away from being able to enjoy the moment, it usually leads to trying to multitask, which has been shown to increase stress and actually decrease productivity. When you find yourself thinking about the future or past, stop and take a few deep breaths to help you re-center yourself in the moment. Don’t cry over the past, it’s gone. Don’t stress too much about the future, it hasn’t arrived. Do your best to live NOW and make this moment worth living.
9. Caring Too Much About What Others Might Think: To a certain degree, we all care about what others think. And that’s good. In a way, the opinion of others – especially those whom we love and respect – helps us stay on the right track However, if you’re making decisions and doing things because you think that’s what this person or that person will think is right all the time, STOP. You are not in this world to live up to other people’s expectations. It’s your life. Don’t care too much what other people will say as long as you know in your heart it’s what you want and/or right for you.
10. Being Ungrateful: No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.
