Believe it or not, we can become happier in our lives through subtraction, not addition. Buying the latest gadgets may make you happier in the meantime, but getting that happiness to last requires you to lose things rather than gain them. Sure, there are a number of factors that may affect our happiness, but here are a few things you can remove to change your life for the better.
Remove the Need to Prove Yourself
This is probably the biggest reason why people remain unhappy their whole lives — they think that at a certain point in life, they need to have this and that. While there’s nothing wrong with having ambition and goals, many people are in the pursuit of these goals with the aim to prove something to others and themselves. People tend to care too much about what others think of them, to the point where they use others’ approval to validate their own existence.
But humans aren’t built that way and there’s more to life than pleasing others. The need to be “perfect” will only take you further away from happiness and instead lead you to anxiety, depression, and burnout. By removing the imaginary standard of happiness from our lives, we can start doing things out of love and our encouragement, which can make it easier to be truly happy.
Remove All Negative Information
This is important because people can get so accustomed to negativity, frustration, and stress. It can come from what we see and hear or even from our social circles. Here are changes you need to make right now to remove big offenders:
- Stop reading and watching the news.
While this may be hard to do with all the media (TV, newspapers, and radio) they can have a really big impact on how we perceive things, but because so many of them promote only the wrong things instead of the good things that happen around us, they only become a huge source of stress. However, make exceptions for major events that may have a serious impact.
- Reduce your social media usage. Many people use it as a way of keeping up with the latest in everything; gadgets, traveling, cars, houses, how much people earn, and more. As a result, we are always comparing with others, leading us to become depressed when we see that they have more than we do. However, once you start limiting social media, you’ll feel relieved that you can spend more time on the things that make you happy.
Get Rid of Toxic People
Don’t surround yourself with unambitious, negative, and unhappy people — they will only bring you down no matter what you do. It is impossible to use your willpower to out-do your environment, so if you want real change, you need to start with those around you. Don’t underestimate what your social circle is capable of; a study from Harvard that expanded 75 years found that relationships are the biggest factor for a life of health and happiness.
This is why it’s essential to remove negative people from our lives. While they are not to blame for what causes our unhappiness, they can have an impact on how we see things, and how we see ourselves. So it’s important to find the source of negativity and talk to them respectfully in order to create boundaries for yourself. This will ultimately set how you want your relationships to be, as well as let you take control of what you won’t tolerate.
Key Takeaways
● There’s no point in trying to prove yourself “worthy” to anyone. Focus on doing more things for yourself and doing what you love.
● Negative information never helps and only causes a lot of depression and stress. Take action by limiting social media and cutting out news in all forms.
● Relationships have the biggest effect on our wellbeing and health (emotionally, mentally, and even physically) so make sure to create boundaries.
By making sure to remember these key points, you’ll be able to stay on track with your happiness. While they may not have an instant result, you will be able to see how removing these things can make you happier, not just with yourself, but with your whole life in general. And the sooner you start, the sooner you will reap that benefits, so get started now, because you deserve to be happy.
