How to be Happy …even if it is the End of the Year
How to be happy even when it is the end of the year and there is nothing to be happy about…The year may be coming to a close. There are a lot of Christmas festivities going on. Everyone seems to be caught up in the frenzy and excitement. Except you. You don’t seem to have much to smile about. In fact, this time of the year is the hardest year for you. Or maybe you just feel real depressed.
You may feel this way for a number of reasons:
- A loved one has passed on
- You are still in the same position you where at the beginning of the year
- You have gone backwards (even worse)
- Broken dreams and promises
- You don’t know what the new year may bring
- You received alarming news
And so on.
Well, lets still put a smile on your face. There is always something to smile about. There is always something to be thankful for even in the darkest hour. Please hold on a minute longer while you find out how to bring back that smile…
1 Make a choice to be happy
Happiness starts with a choice. It really does. Make up your mind from now, that you will choose to be happy.
2 Don’t wait for others to make you happy
Sometimes we are waiting for others to make us happy. If our spouse is happy, then we will be happy. If our kids are happy, then we will be happy. We only have one chance in this life. Make the most of it. As much as those closest to you affect you, make up your mind that you will not let any of their negative emotions affect you.
3 Maintain hope
It can be hard to be happy nonetheless when you see a loved one going through a hard time. Remember, there is always hope though. Maintain your faith. Faith brings hope. If they have to be the first person to defy the odds in that matter, then live for that moment.
The same applies to you. If you are going through a very hard time, perhaps you have just lost your job (or rather your job has lost you 🙂 ) , and you are 62 years old, why see yourself as being unemployable? Hold on to hope. Being sad, fretting and worry will not change the situation. And worse of all it will affect your emotional and even your mental health.
4 Your environment is not responsible for your happiness
Often people think, if only they got a better job, or a better house, or a better car, or a better this or better that, they would be so much happier. Not true. If that was the case, the richest and most influential people in the world would be the happiest.
5 Enjoy where you are at every stage of your life
I remember when I was at uni, I thought to myself, when I get my degree, I would be the happiest person in the world. Once that happened, I thought, when I get a job, I would be the happiest person in the world. When that happened, I thought, when I get a good job, I would be the happiest person in the world. When that happened, I thought, when I get on the housing ladder, I would be the happiest person in the world. And so it continued.
The point was, when was I ever going to be the happiest person in the world? Now, looking back, achieving most of my goals, I think, if I had known I was going to achieve them, I probably would have enjoyed the journey more rather than get stressed and even miserable when things did not always happen the way I wanted..and in the time frame.
The truth was, I was supposed to be enjoying every step of the way.
6 Even the longest road has a turn
My mum always used to say and still says – even the longest road has a turn. In other words, no matter that it seems that the challenge seems to go on forever, with no end in sight, there is always a change. And because we are maintaining hope, we are hopeful the turn is not the edge of a cliff!
When Chuck was living alone with mental illness, it seemed the journey would never end. It seemed this was his lot. But he maintained and kept affirming that one day it would end. His faith filled words eventually paved the way to him achieving his dream and defying the odds, (hence the website today). The turn of the road came.
Yes, there were potholes, sharp bends along the way. But he kept going, doing U-turns when necessary, staying on course. You got to keep going. Don’t stop by the side. Else you will not get to your destination.
7 See that all things are working for your good
It is hard to see this point but you got to especially in the darkest hour. When someone very close to me unexpectedly and suddenly died, it was the biggest blow I had ever had in my entire life. I had to hold on to the words from the Bible that all things are working for my good. I could not see it, but I had to think and tell myself that this tragedy has not come to, and will not destroy me.
If I had not had that mindset, it would have been one long and treacherous journey. Of course, death of a loved one is not something to be joyful about. But I had to realise that my life still had purpose and therefore I had to continue my journey even though theirs had finished. I had to pick up whatever thread of hope there was to pick up and continue.
And continue I did. Because I refused intense sadness to take a hold of me, I prevented myself from denying good opportunities that have come my way since. Had I been caught up in grief, I would not have been able to enjoy those good things and use them to my advantage.
8 Resist the temptation to look back. Look forward
Forget the mistakes. Forget the past. You can’t change it. But you can affect your future. So, if it is the end of the year, look forward to the coming year (with hope of course). Tell yourself, it cannot get worse. That is the power of words and affirmations!
Remember, life is for the living. Live it well. Live it happy!
Because you deserve it.
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