By 20 POPULAR WAYS TO STAY UNHAPPY FOREVER
Angel Chernoff
Ready for a quick, fresh reality check?
Dale Carnegie once said, “It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It’s what you think about.”
I don’t think anyone could say it any better than that. I’ve watched so many friends and acquaintances search tirelessly for happiness by changing jobs, moving to new cities, pursuing intimate relationships, and tweaking all sorts of other external factors in their lives. And guess what? They’re still unhappy. Because they spend all of their time and money adding positive externals to their lives when their internals are still in the negatives.
So with that in mind, here are 20 ways to stay unhappy forever. Of course, Marc and I would highly recommend you read each bullet point and then move swiftly in the opposite direction.
- Dwell on things that happened in the past.
- Obsess yourself with all the things that might happen in the future.
- Complain about problems instead of taking the necessary steps to resolve them.
- Fear change and resist it.
- Work hard, do your best and then condemn yourself for not achieving perfection.
- Belittle yourself.
- Hang out with other people who belittle you.
- Try to control everything and then worry about the things you can’t control.
- Lie to yourself and those around you.
- Keep doing the same thing over and over again.
- Be lazy and follow the path of least resistance.
- Hold onto anger. Never forgive anyone.
- Always be right. Never let anyone else be more right than you.
- Compare yourself unfavorably to those who you feel are more successful.
- Let small issues snowball into big problems.
- Never learn anything new.
- Never take responsibility for your own actions.
- Blame everyone around you.
- Don’t ask for directions and don’t ask questions.
- Don’t let anyone help you.
OK, now that you know what not to do, let me tell you a secret about happiness. Nobody is happy all of the time. It’s perfectly normal to experience considerable fluctuations in your level of happiness from day to day, month to month, and even year to year.
Rest assured – the happiest people Marc and I have met and worked with over the years are not immune to hard days, heartbreak, or feeling like a fool! The difference is they turn their frustrations into fuel, and then rebuild their lives with the pebbles of goodness they discover after hitting a temporary “rock bottom.”
And of course, if you’re struggling with any of these points, know that you are not alone. Many of us are right there with you, working hard to feel better, think more clearly, and live a life free of unhappiness and heartache.
