Happiness
What Do Happy People Choose to Ignore?
Some positive illusions boost your happiness and help you reach your goals.
Posted May 8, 2014
Some say happy people have mastered the art of happpiness, others say they've chosen it. In reality, it's a bit of both. You can choose to take a more positive outlook on life, even when faced with challenges, and you can choose to prioritise the things that are important to you. At the same time, there is an 'art' to happiness as well as you can practice habits and learn tricks that naturally boost your positive emotions. One of these tricks is to create certain positive illusions so you can ignore things which work against your happiness.
- Ignore other people's judgements.
Happy people are confident in who they are and what they believe in. They make an active effort to not let other people's judgement affect their mood or their beliefs. Instead, they focus on replacing self-criticism with self-compassion - after all, we are our worst critics so there's no point adding other people's criticism into the pot! - Ignore worrying about things you can't change.
Don't waste any energy on worrying about things you can't change. This will only increase your stress levels, your obsession about the problem, and your frustration about not being able to change it. Take 10 seconds to take three deep breaths, and with every exhale let a little bit of the problem out. By the third exhale, imagine you have completely let go of it as you've breathed it out. - Ignore the pain of having to work hard towards your goals.
Happy people thrive in the face of challenge and enjoy their journey towards their goals. Yes sometimes the going gets tough, but that's only a sign that the journey is actually worthwhile. It also makes your journey a more rewarding one, as you will be learning and growing throughout it. - Ignore obsessively comparing yourself to others.
By all means seek inspiration and encouragement from around you, and look up to people who give you the ambition to keep going towards your dreams. But stop comparing your life or your successes to those of others. This is especially crucial in today's age where social media really enables you to present a 'highlight reel' of your activities, which people can misinterpret as you living the dream 24/7. Focus on your growth over time, and think about how you personally are improving from the person you were yesterday to the person you are today.
Choosing to practice these habits more proactively will help you focus on what's important to you and keep you motivated on working towards your goals. As it turns out, some ignorance can do you good.