5 Questions for (more) Happiness

Sometimes life is just not what you thought it would be.

You haven’t reached or achieved what you thought you would have by now, there’s something that drags you down or maybe an autoimmune issue is blossoming, keeping you from doing things you want and have to do.

At times like these, self motivation doesn’t exactly appear out of the blue by the bucket load.

When you realise you need help, a speaking partner (in which ever way you prefer to have them) might be few and far between.

So how do you get out of the rut? How can you make yourself realise that the world isn’t, in fact, ending soon? Is there a list of criteria you can use to assess your situation?

Oh. I’m sure there are plenty of such criteria – it depends on what you’re looking for and what works for you.

There are 5 questions you can ask yourself in any situation to get a little clearer on what is actually going on, though:

1. How happy am I today?

This is the essential self-assessment. And honesty is the bottom line here. So how happy are you really today?

Is it just a case of the Monday’s? Then you know it’ll be better by tomorrow.  Have you been feeling like this for longer? Then where, on a scale, are you today?

One thing that I really don’t like hearing when I’m feeling down is “live in the moment”. Unfortunately it’s the thing that really works, though: looking at this moment and to those that are yet to come.

2. What makes me happy?

This one should be fairly easy.

Do you love dancing? Singing? Shopping? Reading interior design magazines? Some alone time? Traveling and exploring new places?

What do you feel the happiest doing? Make a list of all the things that makes you happy.

Then pick one and do it, right now!

3. What’s success to me?

How do you define success for yourself? Forget the Webster dictionary for a minute and focus on you and what you think.

Is it to take less medication for your disease? Is it to have 1 million dollars in the bank? Or is it to start that new career you have been wanting to pursue?

What is “success” to you? If you do the exercise I mention below, it may very well show you your definition if you don’t know it already.

4. What do I want my life to look like?

If your answer is something along the lines of “not like this”, then its definitely time to get to work and change something, my friend.

I do know that getting up and getting going can be very challenging when you’re not at the top of your game. I really do. But doing something rather than nothing is already a huge step in the right direction.

Anyway, what do you want your life to look like? Are there things you could live without in your life as it is now? Is there something you’d like to add instead?

I recently did this wonderful exercise that brought much more clarity to where I want to be. Imagine it is the year 2024, 10 years from now. What have you achieved? What does your life look like then? Who do you have in your life? Where are you? What have you moved on from, what are you moving towards? (I thank my lucky stars that the fantastic Sigrun made me do this exercise)

5. What can I do today to start shifting this blue feeling?

Today is a great day to start kicking that yucky feelings butt!

What small step can you take today to be happier? Is it just getting outside for a 15 minute walk? Is it something from the list I mentioned above? Or is it to stop marathon watching your new favourite TV series?

You have to start somewhere. So sow a seed of happiness today. Knowing what to do is pretty useless without doing it.

In the end, in very many situations, the only person who can give you an answer on how to improve and feel happier is you.  Also, what might seem like the smallest problem, can actually be causing the biggest issue.

What do you do when you’re feeling down? How do you get yourself out of it? Please tell me in the comments below!