The Making of a “Happy” Me

Keeping yourself motivated and happy is often the hardest thing there is. As an individual, I often struggled with maintaining a positive outlook. I would easily despair in the face of adversity and choose to hide from life rather than face it head-on. Strange as it may seem, my journey towards self-motivation and positivity began only after I faced a serious setback in my professional life. I learned a lot of things during this phase, but the most important takeaway was how to remain motivated and happy. Here’s what I learned:

Finding Something Good in the Bad

One of the most important things about self-motivation is learning to see the good in the bad. Most of us treat failure as failure. We do not see the lesson hidden within. In my case, I no longer dwell too much on the negatives. Instead, I treat a setback as an opportunity and lead from there. Finding small things to be positive about in a bad situation really helps. It keeps you going and that’s really what most of us can do at times: Keep going.

Finding Things to be Thankful For

As clichéd as this sounds, it’s actually perfectly true. There’s a lot that we take for granted on a daily basis. This propels us to focus on a negative situation more than we should. Practicing gratitude instead can be really helpful. It allows you to restore the balance in a negative situation.  Some days you may have to look a little harder, but it’s still important to keep looking.

Embracing the Adversity

The reason that most of us fail to be happy in spite of trying very hard is that we run away from the situation. The key here is not to ignore the source of your pain. You must acknowledge what happened and accept it. This can help you move on and focus on the next chapter of your life.

Finding the Right Support System

As humans, we naturally seek a connection with others. We are not built for isolation and need a support system to carry us through the bad times. However, it’s also important that you find the right kind of people for this. Toxic relationships are incredibly damaging to your mental health.  If your support system fails to acknowledge your problems and seeks to ‘help’ you by undermining a situation, then you need to look elsewhere.

Learning How to Laugh

This is another crucial part of self-motivation and maintaining a positive outlook. If you are someone who tends to take life a little too seriously, then you need to stop. Over-thinking a situation only adds to your stress. You must learn how to laugh at adversity instead. Even if a situation feels impossible, a little humor can uplift your spirits and clear your head… and keep you young. This can help you look for a solution and not be so overwhelmed by what happened.

Start Today

If you are currently struggling with something in your professional or personal life then start changing it today, maintaining a positive outlook every day can make a huge difference.

For an encouraging happiness “quote” click here or go to Goodreads Happiness Quote section.