Have you found yourself waiting for your life to get better? Well, without taking your happiness into your own hands that will never happen. It’s common to fall into a pattern of excuses and reasons why you can’t be happy. Many people wait for something to happen that will make them happy, rather than finding a way to make themselves happy. If you wait for happiness to come to you instead of creating it yourself, you’ll be waiting forever.
The good news is life can get better. Taking your life into your own hands and changing the situation yourself will help you stop feeling hopeless and allow you to feel much more in control of your life. Here are some ways to overcome your unhappiness and start to feel a little better.
How to Make Your Life a Little Happier
- Recognize that you are feeling unhappy
Accepting your negative feelings is the first step to overcoming them. Whether you’re feeling sad, angry, or disappointed, acknowledging these feelings and trying to move forward will reduce your stress. Not allowing yourself to feel what you’re feeling makes it impossible to accept the emotions you’re experiencing and moving on from them.
- Be compassionate towards yourself
Kind self-talk can bring you comfort in times of distress. Practicing empathy and self-love is a way to show compassion towards yourself and allow yourself to heal. Negative self-talk only makes upsetting situations worse and doesn’t allow you to move forward.
- Do something right now to make yourself feel a little better
Although this may just seem like a quick fix, doing something positive and fun can help get you out of your negative frame of mind (even if it’s only for a little). Research shows that people’s mood improves when they participate in a pleasurable activity. Try going outside, hanging out with a friend, hosting a dinner, anything that will get you out of your room, and focusing on something other than your sadness.
- Try to consider what is going right in your life
Yes, you may feel as if your life is imploding and nothing is going the way you want, however, there is always another side. Using a dialectical approach allows you to acknowledge that there can be two opposing, but equally correct, ideas taking place at the same time. This means that although you may be unhappy with your life and how things are going, there can also be good things happening at the same time. Try to think of a few things you do enjoy or like about yourself and your life. Focus on your friends, family, pets – anything that makes you see the glass half full as opposed to half empty.
- Consider what you can change in your life to make yourself happier
After allowing yourself to be sad, showing yourself compassion, and getting into a better frame of mind, think about what steps you can take to improve your situation. What in your life is causing you to feel unhappy? Although it can be difficult to pinpoint one cause for unhappiness, try to identify some aspects of your life that you can alter to improve your state of mind. If you’re struggling with school, reach out for extra help. If someone is treating you unfairly, stand up for yourself or reach out for help. Trying to find solutions, no matter how small, to make your situation even just slightly better is a step in the right direction.
- Practice self-care
Self-care includes everything that is related to staying healthy, including hygiene, nutrition, and seeking out professional support when needed. Making sure to care for both your mental and physical well-being is crucial in finding happiness. Developing a self-care routine that can be maintained can help prevent you from falling into unhealthy behaviors that play into the cycle of unhappiness. Try exercising, eating healthy, connecting with friends, getting a good night’s sleep, or whatever makes you feel cared for.
- Reach out for professional help
If you find yourself in a constant state of hopelessness, reaching out for professional assistance may be a good idea. A therapist or counselor can help you identify if you have a mental health issue that is at the root of your sadness as well as helping you understand your feelings better. Medical professionals can assist you in processing your emotions in a safe and productive environment. Therapists and counselors can ultimately help you work toward a more fulfilling and happy life.
It is possible to find happiness, even in the harshest of conditions, it just takes conscious effort. These 7 tips can help guide you in your journey to understanding why you may be feeling unhappy and how to begin to move forward.
Finding Happiness at Design for Recovery
Design for Recovery is a sober living home for men located in West Los Angeles. While living in Design for Recovery’s structured, safe environment, you can begin to discover how to make yourself happy. Residents work hard daily to develop new skills, values, and coping mechanisms for approaching life in early recovery. At Design for Recovery, you will develop close friendships with peers that can help support you in your journey to happiness. Allow Design for Recovery to provide you with the necessary space to understand your feelings and develop the skills needed to maintain long-term happiness.
