It can be tempting to put a lot of focus on the next goal. The next promotion, the next job, the next car, the next house, will be exactly what you need to be happy. However, the act of living for an elevated level of happiness makes it impossible to be simply satisfied.
Learn a Mindfulness Routine
Mindfulness is simply being aware of where you are in the present moment. It allows you to dial back from the stress of striving and actually settle into a place of satisfaction. Mindfulness is also a great step to building a gratitude practice. If you are not keen on setting a timer on your phone that will ring a bell to make you aware, set your own trigger.
One simple trick to staying mindful is to think about your feet. Right now, where are they? If they are on the couch, you can stop, close your eyes, take a deep breath and be thankful for leisure time. If they are under your desk, breath in and out a few times and be thankful for a job. Being mindful does not mean you stop trying. It just means you pay attention to the flowers close to you before charging off to sniff the next garden.
Quit Worrying About Being Happy
Happy and unhappy are opposite ends of a teeter-totter. When you try to focus on being and staying happy, you move the fulcrum, or balance point. focus instead on contentment. Strive to celebrate satisfaction. Do not put all your time into being happy. You make it impossible to find balance.
Stop Chasing Trends
All the folks that were worried about getting just the right organizational baskets suddenly found they had nothing to store in the baskets when they embraced minimalism. Minimalism and austerity are nice companions, so why is minimalism so expensive?
One of the reasons that minimalism is so pricey is that everyone is getting rid of all the stuff they bought to chase the last trend, and the consignment stores are so overloaded you cannot even get pennies on the dollar for those belongings. If minimalism really appeals, take the time to embrace slow minimalism. Before you buy something, ask yourself if you will love it enough to have to dust it in six months. If not, do not buy it. Stop shopping, too.
Never Stop Learning
If you have a talent or a knack for something, study up on it and try to make money doing it. From home organizing to learning how to study for CPA exam, put your talents to use to boost your income and build new revenue streams.
If you have a passion for something, go ahead and build a really fanatical hobby. However, trying to turn it into a business will hurt. Not everyone can share your passion.
What is the difference? A knack is something that comes naturally. For tall folks, being a great gymnast will take a lot of passion, because your knack is limited. Basketball may be your knack.
Monitor Your Intake
Be really careful about how much TV you watch. TV is passive. It takes very little effort to be spoon-fed data, whether it is legit news or just a story. There is some terrific stuff on television, but if you find yourself channel surfing a lot of nothing, consider putting the TV away for a week to see if your brain can be put to better use.
Owning what is wrong and using your inherent skills to build something better is much more interesting than hoping for happiness. Hopefully, if you get the right mindset, get some gratitude mojo going, and are really fussy about what you put in your brain, you can build a much more satisfying life.