Are you among that group of people the rest of society would consider chronically happy? If so, this post probably doesn’t contain any information you don’t already know. If not, the next few paragraphs could change your life. Adopting the best practices of chronically happy people could allow you to join their ranks in short order.
As you read, bear in mind this one important thing: happiness is a matter of choice. You control your daily level of happiness by the way you choose to view the world. Best of all, no person or thing can steal happiness from you.
1. They Relinquish Control
Chronically happy people are keenly aware that they cannot control every aspect of life. They cannot control the weather, for example. So there’s no point in being unhappy every time it rains or gets a bit chilly. On a more serious level, they also know that trying to control other people is a doorway to unhappiness.
People are great. We all need to be around them. But people let us down. They act selfishly and make bad decisions. Therefore, trying to control others is a good way to make yourself crazy. The more you attempt to exert control, the more unhappy you are likely to be. So what’s the solution? Relinquish that control. Let people be themselves. You do you and let them do them.
2. They Don’t Seek Outside Approval
Hand-in-hand with relinquishing control is not seeking outside approval. It really doesn’t matter what other people think about you, your life, or the decisions you make. Happy people know that. They do not spend their lives trying to make other people happy. They don’t worry about whether or not other people approve. They do what they believe is right and pursue what they want to pursue, irrespective of what anyone else thinks about it.
3. They Willingly Take Risks
There is a lot to be said about taking risks. With risk comes reward. And truth be told, it is nearly impossible to gain a reward without taking some sort of risk. Take healthy relationships, for example. If you want the reward that comes with them, the good folks at Relationships & More in Rye, New York say you have to be willing to risk being hurt along the way. If you close yourself off in order to avoid being hurt, the relationships you do have will suffer.
4. They Choose to Be Content
Believe it or not, happiness and contentedness are inextricably linked. Chronically happy people are generally content people as well. Being content does not mean being lackadaisical or unmotivated. It doesn’t mean being unwilling to learn, grow, etc. Contentedness is finding satisfaction where you currently are, even as you strive to move forward.
When you are content, every little failure along life’s road doesn’t turn into an emotional train wreck. You take your failures with your successes. And as one day turns into the next, you keep moving forward with a quiet satisfaction that you are doing what you want to do.
Unhappy people constantly focus on what they don’t have. The longer they go without that thing they seek, the more unhappy they become. Generally happy people don’t live that way. They are content.
Rare is the person who finds happiness accidentally. Rare is the chronically happy person who doesn’t do anything to be happy. Happiness is a choice rooted in the decisions we make and how we choose to look at life. If you want to be among the chronically happy, start practicing the four things mentioned in this post.
