7 Ways to Protect Your Happiness | Victoria Jiju

Within this life, you will experience so many ups and downs. Often it's the bad times that stay with us longer than good times. Therefore, I  believe it's imperative to try and look after your own happiness and promote it more frequently within everyday life. Below you will find 7 simple-ish tips that will help you protect your own happiness. After all, we only have one life, so we may as well try to spend it as happy as possible, right? 

1. Focus on the here and now.

It's so easy in life to focus on the event from your past that makes feel unhappy. You focus on it so much you stop yourself doing that thing ever again so you don't feel upset or embarrassed.  Similarly, you may be focusing on the future too much, focusing on an event that's making you nervous. So how can you protect your happiness? The key is to focus on the here and now. At this moment right now, what could you do to make yourself happier? Do you need to eat, talk to someone, sleep, or even just breathe? If we focus on the here and now, life just seems that little bit less overwhelming. You can focus upon the smaller decisions that can make you happier rather than trying to control all of the things you just simply can't. Re-align your focus, you are in the present and you need to look after yourself right now, not your past self or your future self, but simply wherever you are- right here, right now. 

2. Cancel Commitments 

We live in a society that encourages us to go out, look perfect, and share it on our feeds to show how much of a good time we're having, but guess what? It's okay to say no. Not feeling a Saturday night out on the town? That's okay, don't go, switch it for a night in with a movie and some Ben & Jerry's. Feel like you've got too much on for brunch with the girls? That's okay, say you'll catch up next week and take the time for yourself. It's important when you're invited to events and social gatherings, that you are going because they fill your life with happiness and enjoyment. If these gatherings are giving you more stress than love, its okay to say no or cancel every once in a while. Listen to your body, it's intuitive and it does know what it wants.

3. Take The Day Off 

To reiterate your body is intuitive, it knows when it needs to stop and have a break, its important to listen to it in order to protect your happiness. Sometimes you just need to take the day off from laundry, the cooking, the dishes, or even work. Once every so often (not too much, you don't want to get fired) your allowed to take the time to get yourself together. If your feeling like life is getting away from you and you just can't cope, allowing your body time to catch up is just as valid of an excuse as taking time off to let your body heal from sickness. Truthfully, I wish I knew this is my last job because I pushed my body way too far and reached breaking point and I don't want anyone to ever feel like that, so trust me,  take a break when you need it.

4. Stop Comparing Yourself 

Embrace yourself, your beautiful faults, and your amazing quirks because they are you and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's beautiful, there is only one you and you're totally unique. Don't try to blend in, be your own best friend, and talk yourself up because you deserve it. You don't need to be pretty like her, you need to be pretty like you. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else, makeup and filters are rife today and more to point, you can be pretty amazing just by being you. When you're constantly comparing yourself, you're training your brain to be unkind and if you wouldn't talk to your friend how you're talking yourself, you shouldn't be doing it. 

5. Be a Nice Person

It's nice to be nice. Think nice, be nice, radiate nice. When you're nice to others your reputation proceeds you, making others feel good, makes you feel good. Its almost like you protect your own happiness by allowing others to experience small pockets of happiness you give them when you're nice

6. Enjoy Your Own Company 

There's something very important in getting comfortable with your own company. Allowing yourself to get to know what you like and you don't like, knowing you can make yourself happy without relying on anyone or anything else. Enjoying your own company means you're confident in making life decisions and you do things simply to benefit your own happiness instead of trying to impress others.

7. Please Yourself

Quite simply please yourself. Stop focusing on being a people pleaser, stop sacrificing your happiness in favor of somebody else's. Focus upon making decisions that will benefit your overall happiness. You don't have to be rude or nasty to achieve this, find a balance in always being nice but setting boundaries that allow your happiness to thrive

Thanks for reading,