Common Habits That Steal Your Joy and Ways to Find Peace
Why do peace and happiness seem so hard to achieve? Sure, life is unpredictable and, at times, can be challenging, but can it really be that difficult to find calm even in the midst of a storm? The truth is, happiness and inner peace aren’t difficult to manifest. Yet, it seems that one’s perspective of what matters most tends to get lost as they navigate life.
Everyone is so busy trying to survive that true happiness often gets buried deep. When you’re working, raising children, committed to a marriage, and maintaining a household (amongst other things), stress often suppresses feelings of happiness and peace.
Becoming happier, therefore, requires you to take a step back and realize some of the things you may be doing that alter your mood and increase your stress. It helps to remove barriers and allows you to be at peace with the here and now. Below, are a few common habits that could be stealing your joy:
No Downtime
Being productive means taking action toward accomplishing your goals. While it is great to accomplish things in your life, when you’re always on the move, you stress yourself out. You’re so busy trying to “make it” that you’re wearing down your mind and body in the process.
Having a “no days off” mentality will certainly backfire. To find your peace you need to make time to relax. Take a weekend and binge watch television or movies. Go to the spa and get a rub down with the best-recommended massage lotion. Plan a mini vacation. Spend time with your kids. Read a book. Meditate for a few minutes each morning. The idea here is to breathe, relax, and focus on your emotional well-being.
Working for a Paycheck
There’s no way around it. You certainly need to have gainful employment in order to afford the bare necessities in life. Be that as it may, too many people are working in positions that drain them of their happiness. The work environments are hostile, there isn’t any room for growth, the pay is barely cutting it, or it’s simply not something that brings the passion.
Yes, you have to earn a living, but that doesn’t mean you should spend the next 30 years working in a place that sucks your joy. Start doing some research on careers you’re more interested in. Whether it’s working for another organization or starting a business of your own, the process of doing something you love is a lot easier these days. You can go back to school or launch a scalable side hustle. Once you’ve gotten some stability, then, quit your job and do what brings you peace.
Dwelling on the Negative
Life was never meant to be rainbows and roses all the time. There are going to be bad days, setbacks, wrong choices, and, for some, traumatic experiences along the way. When you’re in these moments, obviously you’re happiness and peace are rattled. Though allowing yourself to feel these negative emotions is natural, wallowing in it lowers your quality of life and steals your joy.
Learn from the mistakes. Understand that there are going to be bad days. If you’re truly after happiness, it is important not to dwell on what went wrong. After going through your emotions, evaluating your choices, and proper healing, you have to move on. As you feel your mind start to focus on the negative, change it to something positive. For example, maybe you didn’t get that job you wanted because you weren’t prepared for the interview, but on the bright side, you know how to be prepared in the future and there are better opportunities out there for you.
Comparisons/Keeping Up with the Joneses
Here’s a bad habit just about everyone is guilty of – comparing their lives and level of success to others. From following people with envy on social media to feeling bad every time someone in your life accomplishes something new, it can eat away at your soul.
Everyone has a different path to follow. Not to mention, what seems like success may very well come with a lot of baggage. Stop comparing yourself to others and trying to keep up with what everyone else is doing. Set your own personal goals and be happy for what you’re accomplishing in life.
Happiness is all in the mind. It is not attached to a certain moment in time, person, place, or thing. Everyone wants to be happy and have peace, but seemingly adopt habits in their lives that suck that from them daily. If you’re guilty of these things, start making the changes necessary to get your peace back.