3 (NOT SO LITTLE HABITS) THAT STEAL YOUR HAPPINESS

Are you tired of dealing with the same headaches and heartaches over and over again that are stealing your happiness day after day?

Maybe you’ve said things like…

• My husband doesn’t make me happy anymore
• My wife doesn’t make me happy anymore
• I’m not happy in marriage
• This isn’t making me happy
• Don’t I deserve to be happy
• Where is my happiness
• Why can’t I be happy

All of us have, or at least we’ve thought it.

Unfortunately, it has become an epidemic…

An epidemic of people who aren’t happy in their life, with their job and in their marriages.

It may be because there are truly serious issues that are going on, and life is just a bit hard at the moment.

But given that these types of struggles and storms aren’t always present, what else causes this unhappiness?

Just because you have a prestigious position at work, the sport star kids, the sexiest spouse and the most neatly hedged house, doesn’t mean you have a perma-smile going on.

What causes people who seemingly have “everything” to feel like it all counts for nothing?

Here are 3 habits you need to break to get your happiness back!

Comparison

All you have to do is open up your favorite social media app and you’ll find plenty of stuff you seem to be falling short on!

In the filtered society we live in, it’s easy to forget that not every perfect picture is true.

The rose colored glasses we see others lives through can often be taken off when we start to look at our own.

Don’t compare somebody else’s highlight reel to your cutting room floor!

Do not get caught up in somebody else’s story just because it looks “better” than yours.

Often times it’s not better. It’s just different.

Ingratitude

Do you spend more time being thankful for what you do have or being bitter about what you don’t?

If it’s the latter, you’re unfortunately setting yourself up for a lot of heartache.

Throw in the comparison to someone else’s life mentioned above, and you can become downright miserable.

As sneaky as this one can be to get it, it can be just as easy to usher back out.

Write a list of everything you are thankful for, little and big.

Here’s a start:

• Someone loves you enough to choose to do life with you again today.
• You can see well enough to read this screen.
• The sun hasn’t quit on you.
• The air is still breathable.
• You are still alive!
• You have a computer or smartphone (which puts you in the top 1% of the world’s wealth)

Those are as simple as it gets, but don’t stop there. Lavish your world with thanksgiving and your spirits will become so uplifted, it’ll be incredibly hard to become depressed.

Unrealistic Expectations

As hard as it is to figure out at times, other people and other things were never meant to make you happy!

It’s especially difficult to realize this if you were deeply hoping and believing they would, but alas, they won’t.

Even those with the best intentions are bound to let us down eventually.

Call it human nature, sin, or entropy. Whatever you call it, it’ll rear it’s ugly head at some point.

After all, we’re all on a collision course with a dirt nap.

This can scare you or it can exhilarate you.

Life is incredibly short, after all.

Don’t make some flawed thing, imperfect person (yourself included), or all too lofty aspiration the center of your world, or your marriage.

There are a million ways to go through this thing called life.

If the plan you started with isn’t lining up or the people on the journey with you keep moving into different roles. Don’t worry about it!

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

Give yourself grace to keep failing your way forward. You and your marriage are worth it.

Don’t compare, stay grateful, and keep your expectations constantly refreshed!

Sounds so simple but it definitely isn’t easy.

Don’t be afraid to ask for the help you need, get some coaching, or try out a new resource or two.

The ONE family is always here to help bring you back to the happy!