(We aren’t even in the same stratosphere by the way.) Usually, they scrutinize only one small area of that person’s life and see where the match up.įor example, I may compare myself to Ironman Champion and Olympian Matt Fitzgerald and determine he’s a better triathlete than me. Most people play the internal comparison game. “Saying someone is ugly doesn’t make you any prettier.” Simply take people as they are and appreciate the colorful spectrum of ideas and viewpoints, instead of feeling exasperated by them. Yet, trying to do an impossible task – getting everyone to live by your idea of perfection – is bound to create a lot of frustration. People often get angry because someone violates their deeply-held ideals.
No one else got your memo about the way things should be done, how they should treat you, or how to live their lives by your standards and beliefs. The sooner you accept this, the happier you will be. News flash: the world doesn’t live by your rule book. That’s like expecting the lion not to eat you because you didn’t eat him.” “If you expect the world to be fair with you because you are fair, you’re fooling yourself. You believe everyone should play by your rules. The person who criticized you is probably having a great time without giving you a second thought, while you waste your life sending them death rays with your mind.Ĥ. Let the bitterness go… for your own benefit. You are harming yourself by carrying all of that negative energy. Holding a grudge has about the same logic as drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” – Mark Twain Once you make peace with this, you find the pressure is off and you can start to enjoy the scenery of the journey, instead of plotting the impossibility. However, the reality is that we don’t have the ability to control anything else other than ourselves. You would certainly need superman’s strength to pick up that weight. They believe that they can control everything very well and things will just turn out exactly what they planned. “As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.” – Emmanuel TeneyĪt times, people seem to believe that they stepped straight out of a superhero comic book. You hold onto the perceived idea of control. Bobby McFerrin sang it simply enough, “Don’t worry! Be Happy!” The lack of worry can certainly create happiness! 2. Your energy would be better utilized in changing things that you can control, and letting the rest go.
Worrying doesn’t create action, it freezes you so you are unable to think clearly and make changes to ensure the negative outcome never happens. It’s like a rocking chair moving feverishly, but going nowhere. “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened.” – Mark Twain Here are 50 reasons you may be unhappy, and suggestions on how to open the mental blinds to let the sunshine back in. While depression, and other psychological diseases, are certainly a clinical illness and should not be minimized, there are also factors that contribute to feeling down that you can influence. Is their emotional darkness their own choice? Or are life circumstances beyond their control? Unhappiness comes in many shades of gray.