Mind Rituals To Reclaim Your Happiness
What makes you happy? There are different ways that make a person happy. It could be a simple text from your loved ones, eating your favorite food, reading your favorite book, or just simply going home after a tiring day. Happiness is made up of numerous small moments of joy, that is why it is not permanent. A simple negative action can turn your emotions downhill.
With the events in the world lately, most people are like walking puppets. They live and just do what other people tell them to do. But deep inside there’s something missing, a hole that is needed to be filled. Fill out the void inside by bringing happiness back into your life. Happiness comes from within. There are different ways to take back control and reclaim happiness. Here are some steps that you can take.
1. Be aware of the triggers.
Understand yourself. No one knows you better than yourself. Know the things that easily annoy you. Once you determine the thing that triggers you, think of the ways to avoid them. For example, a deadline on your work annoys you because it stops you from being creative. In order not to get mad with the situation, try creating a to-do list to manage your time more effectively.
2. Smile more.
Smiling makes you happier. Regardless if you are feeling down, smiling makes you less anxious. Your external emotion feeds your internal feelings. It also releases hormones dopamine and serotonin. These hormones improve the mood and help release negative emotions. This is the main reason why people love watching comedies or talking with funny people. It is hard to frown when someone is always making a joke.
3. Let go of control.
You cannot control everything in life. When we expect something and didn’t get it in return, we often feel down and depressed. Understand that there are things no matter how much we want them, we cannot control them. It doesn’t mean that you should not expect but you’ll feel sad if your expectations are not met. Try to adjust your expectations based on the situation.
4. Be aware of your reactions.
Sometimes, it is the reaction to the situation that makes us sadder and more stressed. We love to blame the situation on other people. Instead of fixing the problem, we look for other people to blame. Remember that not everything goes as planned. Focus on fixing the problem and make a new plan. The event already happened, blaming other people won’t make a difference to the situation.
5. Take Time Away From Technology.
According to studies, too much time with technology can cause depression and other mental health issues. Social media for example can make you feel depressed as it forces you to compare your lifestyle with the “perfect” life of other people. Keep in mind that not everything posted is 100% real. There are things such as filters and editors that people use to make their life look perfect. So if technology is already making you depressed, close your phones or laptops and see how your mood will change.
6. Meditate.
Happiness is a state of mind. The feeling is already inside, it is buried within our thoughts and emotions. By meditating, you can reconnect with that feeling and experience more happiness. The main purpose of meditation is to access the positive qualities of the mind. It helps you focus your thoughts on one thing which will help you forget the stress and worries you are currently feeling. The more we can do this, the less we rely on external situations for our happiness.
7. Write what you are feeling.
Writing is a form of expression where you can release your emotions. When we write without thinking and let our thoughts flow, we can let go of the emotions that we are keeping. We can write about the things that stress us, the ideas that are not expressed, the expectations that were broken. You can also try journaling and writing what happened during the day in order to release the feeling.
Don’t let a bad day or situation take away your happiness. Your happiness is your own responsibility. Reclaim your happiness by following the suggestions above.