In my own personal journey of trying to be a better person, I realised that it was all about aiming to be happy. Nothing more, nothing less. When you’re happy, you’re effectively better in every aspect of your life.
The second realisation is that happiness comes from shedding the unnecessary in life, as in you need to stop caring about certain things.
The third realisation? A lot of these unnecessary things are painfully obvious. More often than not, it’s plain common sense.
Here’s 10 things happy people don’t care for.
1. AGE
Indeed, age is just a number. And happy people know this for sure.
They don’t let this ever-increasing number define who they are and what they do. They just do whatever it is they want!
Life is short. Before you know it, age catches up. You might as well make full use of life before your body actually reflects your age. (Read Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, Dying by Ram Dass.)
2. CARING ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK OR SAY
This is one of the biggest blocks to our happiness.
Happy people don’t care for that. They recognise that the words of others are never accurate and should never judge them for who they are and what they’re capable of.
Instead, they block it out. They don’t allow such false illusions to get in the way of what it is they want to do or how they feel. Only what they think of themselves matter.
3. JOBS
That’s not to say happy people are unemployed.
The key idea is: You’re not your job.
Sure, a job is important for stability and survival in today’s society. But other than that, your job scope and status at work should be left at the office. If you don’t, it’s going to seep into your everyday life and you’d end up feeling tired, bored or stressed out.
What matters more is your talent, passion and outlook on life. Allowing your job to take over any of that would only mean you’re allowing a label to define who you are.
4. FEAR
Fear is not real. Happy people know that.
With that, they know that the nervousness and anxiety that supposedly comes with fear are not real. They block it out, get out of their comfort zone, feel a little crazy and just do what they want anyway.
There’s just no point holding back in life just because you feel a little scared.
5. THE NEGATIVE STATE OF THE WORLD
There’s a lot of disturbing stuff going on out there. War, protests, riots, animals going extinct or innocent people having bad things happen to them.
Happy people don’t deny any of these, but they do a good job in making sure it doesn’t affect how they feel.
The happiest people I know simply focus on trying to make the world a better place, one small step at a time. They may not be able to create a revolution overnight, but they know that by showing a little kindness and compassion to our fellow man, the world is that much more positive already.
Don’t let the negative in life get to you. It’s not your fault others have made it this way.
6. TOXIC PEOPLE
“You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with”.
Brilliant quote.
Ever had to deal with an annoying friend or somebody who’s just really self-destructive?
Dump them. It’s time to create a positive environment for yourself.
Happy people gain happiness from the people they are with and not just from within. This is an amazing life hack that most people overlook. If you’re feeling unhappy, take a look around. Sometimes it’s the people that are just dragging you down.
7. THE PAST OR THE FUTURE
The past does not exist, neither does the future.
If you want to be happy, you’ve got to let go of the past and move on with life. Learn from it and grow from it, then make sure you don’t repeat the same mistakes.
As for the future, happy people pretty much let go of expectations.
When you let go of the past and future, then you can truly enjoy the present. (Read Power of Now)
8. EXPECTING ANYTHING IN RETURN
Start doing things for the sake of doing things. Help others for the sake of being compassionate. The true reward is knowing that you’ve added positivity in others.
Happy people let go of always wanting something in return. That’s how they never get disappointed.
9. COMPLAINING
Complaining is the result of an unhappy life. Sometimes things don’t go your way. You can’t escape that.
But complaining is useless. Happy people know that. They’re instead, grateful for what they have and then they try to find the solution with a positive mindset.
10. CONFORMING TO SOCIETY’S STANDARDS
Just like age, there’re a lot of labels out there that try to define who we are. Expectations are always thrown at us and it can be pretty overwhelming at times.
Happy people don’t care for any of that. They take time their time. They look within and do what they want in life.
This is how happiness is created: Not doing things you don’t care for.
[title subtitle=””]What makes you happy in life? Let us know in the comments below![/title]
