Are you making it easy to be happy?
Hi guys! Welcome to the 58th episode of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast!
I hope this finds you happy, fulfilled and growing.
Everyone’s version of a wildly successful life is going to be different. For me, it means being happy, feeling fulfilled and growing, not being stagnant. Now, being happy, I think, should be on the top of everyone’s list of a Wildly successful lifestyle, because if you aren’t happy it doesn’t matter how much money you have, how fit you are or what purse you carry. If you’re not happy, nothing else really matters.
Each of us has a baseline of happiness. There are some that are naturally happier people, but studies have shown that about 40% of our happiness is in our control. That’s a lot if you really think about it.
Being happy is sometimes really easy but sometimes it is going to take work. That is with anyone. To make the times when it takes work easier we need to give yourself every single advantage there is out there.
But, just like you, there are certain things I want to have in my life in order to be happy. NOW. This is where it can get tricky. Because sometimes we make the requirements so strict that it’s hard to meet them! Sometimes too we have requirements that include other people and we do not control anyone other than yourself. We don’t want to have our happiness hinge on expectations of other people is a recipe for failure. Having goals that are unrealistic also set you up for failure
I will share with you a couple examples of this in my own life.
One area Where I struggle a lot is being realistic about my body. I am 47 years old and sometimes I expect my body to look like I’m 27 . That is not an easy accomplishment. In fact it is just unrealistic. I know where this hang up comes from…Growing up my grandmother used to say that “you can never be too skinny and your hair can never be too long” If any of us girls would cut our hair, she would say “Oh, you’ve cut your beauty”. I laugh because she was the sweetest most loving grandma but those ideas stick with you! So, I am really working on loving my body where it is today.
You see, Being healthy and fit is really high on my list of things that make me happy, that is not going to change. But I also have to be realistic about things. Another thing that is high on my list is having good, strong, happy relationships with well pretty much everyone in my life. I don’t like having messy situations with people and generally I don’t have that problem, but it is also an unrealistic requirement because I don’t control other people. If you have listened to my last few episodes then you know that one of my sister’s and her family, they have chosen not to be in our life for religious reasons. So that is kind of messy and I have zero control of it.
We all have situations in our life that are messy. And there are going to be periods that are messier than others. We aren’t going to be happy all the time. Our brains were not made for that. It was truly made for survival, but in modern life most of us aren’t worried about being food for a tiger or having to build shelter and fire to survive the night so it’s kind of easy to let ourselves be lazy with our time…maybe vegging out on TV or spending hours on social media.
Honestly I know you may roll your eyes at that but I don’t know too many people that feel super motivated, challenged and excited for life after having spent two hours on social media of any kind. I know how it feels to have gotten caught up on TikTok for hours. I don’t know about you but I kind of equate it with eating cookie dough…I don’t feel great about myself for having done it. I’m not setting myself up for success or happiness by doing that. I’m really just distracting myself from the day…but if we aren’t careful that can quickly become a daily habit that becomes hard to stop.
But look, studies have shown there are certain things that happy people have in common. I’m a big believer in not reinventing the wheel…So I did research on things most happy people have in common. One thing I found for sure is Happiness comes from inside. You aren’t going to find it externally…but there are things you can do to make it easier for you to feel that happiness.
Spending time with happy positive people/having good relationships (This does not mean depending on others for your happiness)
Exercise and eating healthy
Having goals you are working towards that are challenging but attainable
Living in a home that is clean and somewhat clutter free
Getting enough sleep
Having new experiences
Doing something that you love daily (for some people it’s their work)
These are baseline activities and are the things that have been proven to make people happy. Nowhere does it say you have to have a certain amount of money in the bank or be a certain size. There are happy people at all income levels and all sizes.
So I challenge you this week to pick three of these things and focus on them and see if it increases your inner happiness. For me I am going to pick “Having new experiences”, Setting a new challenging but attainable goal and decluttering my closet of things I don’t wear. I already feel happier and excited for the week!
Tag me on Instagram @theheididawson with your three things and let’s see if it works!
I love you guys and I’ll talk to you in a few days!
