How to keep being happy

We’re already about halfway through the semester. Midterms are on the horizon if they aren’t already here. Stress is running high with papers and assignments being due all at the same time. Staying mentaly sane let alone being happy seems all but impossible. Here’s a few things to do to keep being happy.

Stop trying to find happiness

Happiness isn’t a thing you can go out and find. Like any emotion, happiness is something you feel. Mark Manson said it best, “A happy man does not wonder if he’s happy. He simply is.”

Know what it is you are actually looking for

People get happiness and pleasure mixed up all the time because often times, it’s the pleasurable things that make up feel happiness.

Realize that it is ok to not be ok

When we tell ourselves we have to be happy all the time, we block out the other emotions until they explode out of us and we wonder why we are so unhappy. We need to know what those negative emotions feel like so that we can easily identify the good ones.

When nothing makes you happy, change things up

When the things you do for pleasure don’t bring you happiness, then it’s time to find something new that will. Human beings are always changing. It’s normal to get happiness from something one day and not get happiness from it later on.

Get to know yourself and pay attention

No one can get inside your head like yourself, you just have to pay attention. Just like when you are hungry, your stomach might start growling, your body will tell you when it needs things.

Realize happiness can come from anywhere

You never know what can come along and bring you happiness. Being open minded to new things and being less critical of current experiences can all help to bring happiness.

Of course, everything listed here is easier said than done. Just like anything in life, it takes time and practice, but all these things are doable. You will be happy again.