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My friend Charlene’s life is always in constant survival mode. She hustles from 8-5 with zero social life. She’s living paycheck to paycheck and worst of all, she’s stuck in a toxic relationship.
I don’t know if she’s trying to kill herself with how she operates, but one thing I am sure of is that I can’t wait for that day when she just explodes and finds herself in that ‘Eureka’ moment when she just stops and screams, “ENOUGH!”
Sadly, there are many people out there who are like Charlene. They prefer to be stuck in their circumstances rather than try following what their hearts truly desire. They are making their life more difficult by hitting their own heads with bricks and then finding someone else to blame about it.
Ladies, life is what you make it. It may not be exactly as you wish for it to be but you have the power to let go of the BS around you and you have the choice to be happy. It is all up to you.
Here are some reasons why your smallest problems becomes monumental and what you can do to put things in place and live life on your own terms.
1. Because You Are Settling For Comfort
Life becomes boring when it is unchallenged. You’re missing out on amazing adventures that are available to you because you’re too scared to try something new and you’re settling for something convenient even though you know deep inside that it is dull and it is not what you really wanted.
In the piece “4 Reasons You Should GTFO of Your Comfortable Relationship,” writer Danielle Williams explains why you should spare yourself and your partner the pain and just leave.
In my opinion, starting over may not be the most convenient thing to do, and yes, it takes a lot of work; but it could offer you priceless things such as freedom from guilt, a chance to better yourself and an opportunity to find real happiness.
2. Because You Have Wrong Priorities
You find happiness elusive because you don’t feel free. You’re stuck in the busyness of life and you’re always operating at high stress levels. But you know what’s funny about it? You chose it. It was actually your decision to spend time on doing things that don’t really contribute to your best life. I know it’s hard sometimes to avoid doing certain activities, but you should be thinking about how to do them smarter.
Instead of focusing all of your time trying to accomplish everything, get your priorities in order to balance your professional and personal life. Make time for the right things – the things that you enjoy and make you feel alive.
According to writer Jacqueline DeMarco, taking a substantial break halfway through your workday can do you a lot of good. It can help you:
• Manage your stress level better
• Fuel creativity and innovation
• Increase your energy and concentration
• Avoid workplace maladies such as headaches, eyestrain, back pains and so much more
So, ladies, stop skipping your lunch break, step away from your screen and make sure that you put your personal time into good use by really OWNING it. Have some fun chats with your friends, wax your eyebrows, treat yourself to a latte or just find something fun to do.
3. Because You Are Unhealthy
Your emotions are linked to your overall health and well-being. If you’re not physically fit, there’s a big tendency that you are more stressed with your life, depressed, discontented and unhappy. So, keep your body strong by eating healthy, exercising regularly and getting enough rest, sleep and relaxation.
And speaking of a good night’s sleep, do you find yourself waking up at the same time every night? Well, I do. I thought it was just a meaningless sleep pattern but it turns out that it has something to do with my organ’s ability to function and my current emotional state. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a good explanation as to why our sleep is disrupted at particular times.
I found it really interesting, so I tried to check the reasons why my husband always gets up between 11pm-1am. And to my surprise, it affirmed my hunch that he needed to implement a greater self-acceptance in his life.
I highly recommend that you check yours, too so that you will know the logic behind this weird phenomenon and how you can overcome your personal issues.
4. Because You Are Carrying Around Negative Energy
Your thoughts are mostly negative. You only notice all the bad things that are happening around you. You hold on to bitterness and grudges; and you let your doubts and fears paralyze you from living the best life. To find happiness and boost your progress, you have to focus on beauty and blessings; and purge all the things, habits and people from your life that are not serving you.
You can heal yourself and turn your energy around with the help of Marci Baron’s “10 Reasons You Have Negative Energy & How to Reverse It (In Less Than a Minute).”
This piece gives you the perfect antidote for issues like feeling the need to be right all the time, blaming others, being reactive, beating yourself up and so much more.
Ladies, it’s so easy to stay miserable. All you have to do is to forget about self-progress, keep all the toxic people in your life and dwell on your pains. It’s your choice. But just in case you want to be happy, all you need to do is just BE.
I enjoyed reading this article. I quit my job 6 months ago and am now working on my own business, which I immensely love doing. It’s not been easy but, at least, I know I’m following my own path.
I am living this right now. I stepped out of my comfort zone and am living life. I ended a bad relationship that I felt safe in. I’m doing things that I never thought I would.
I totally agree that our emotions are linked to our health and well-being and I have discovered that the more I focus on thinking better feeling thoughts, the more I’ve been experiencing better feeling emotions and overall health.
The idea of taking a break halfway through the day is a novel one. It makes sense because halfway through the day I get burnt out, but then I choose just to push on thinking I need to just stick it through. Coming back after a break will keep me energized and fresh.
I always tell my friends that it is ‘criminal’ to be stuck in circumstances for whatever reasons, be they justifiable or not. Following our own hearts has never been easy, but the gratification that follows is very liberating.
I don’t mean to sound negative, but sometimes it’s true that we can’t really get out of certain situations. Not because we don’t try hard enough, but because we don’t live alone. Sacrifices must be made. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be happy, because I believe we make the decision to be happy.
It really is true that life becomes boring when you don’t challenge yourself. The more we step out of our zones of comfort, the more exciting possibilities reveal themselves in our lives. I know this has been true in my own life experience.
You cannot work so hard and have no social life. What will happen when that job is no longer there? I promised myself to always walk away from toxic relationships (or friends in general) and what a journey this has been!