Why Am I Not Happy with Life? How to fix it
Are you unable to feel happiness, joy, or contentment despite trying a lot? If yes, you need to know that you are not alone because we all get the same feeling at some point. You may have achieved your goals through financial stability, having a home, a happy family, and good work. Yet, there is something not enough.
Despite trying, you have an unsettling feeling that you can’t lay a finger on. If you think, “I am not happy what should I do” this post is for you. It will help you understand the actual cause of why you are not happy with life and how you can achieve it again.
Why Does Having Everything Not Feel Enough?
When you have everything and don’t feel happy, it can make you feel ungrateful or lost. But that isn’t true because we easily assume that happiness comes from external achievements like career success, financial security, or material possessions.
Our society has conditioned us to believe these as the metric for contentment. So, you must overcome this belief and understand that there is more than having material success in life.
5 Common Reasons Why You Are Not Happy With Life
You Don’t Have a Clear Purpose in Life
Having a good job, home, and car can be your goals. But, they are not the long-term purpose that will leave you feeling content. A lack of purpose leaves you feeling empty, irrespective of your success.
You may have fulfilled your goals and are living the life you once thought, but they don’t make you feel fulfilled anymore. Everyone has a different purpose in life, like giving back to society, following a passion, or exploring the world. So, this feeling that “something is missing in my life” instead goes into your subconscious mind.
How to Overcome It?
Take some time and reflect on your life. Understand what truly matters to you. It can be anything from doing social work to pursuing one of your passions like music or painting that you have kept aside in life. Try to include them in your daily life with small steps.
Unresolved Emotional Issues
Being unloved, unheard, having heartbreaks, constant quarrels, and more in the past makes us say, “I hate my life” because that hurts. Your past trauma or unresolved emotional issues can be a big reason that prevents you from moving ahead and makes you feel unhappy with your life.
Sometimes, we think we have moved on, but those wounds are often triggered by different things you can’t help but think about.
How to Overcome It?
Therapists are the best solution to overcome unresolved emotional issues. Therapy can help you better understand your feelings from the past and present. Also, they can help you with suggesting ways to deal with it.
Chronic Stress and Burnout
When you overthink or are stressed about one thing or the other, it’s rather impossible to feel happiness. If you constantly deal with family disputes, feel overburdened with work, or struggle with health or relationships, it can put you in a cycle of stress. The daily stress leads to easy burnout that leaves you not satisfied with life.
How to Overcome It?
Prioritize your feelings and yourself. Take more breaks, set boundaries, learn to say no when you want, and gradually eliminate anything contributing to your stress. Instead, spend time on activities that rejuvenate you. Mindfulness practices like meditation and yoga can also help reduce stress.
Constant Comparison
We live in a digital world where we can easily see what others are up to in their life. It can easily make you compare yourself with others. However, you forget that you only see the good parts of others’ lives because they want to show them.
People try to showcase that they live a perfect life, and you wonder if they are happy. But they say to themselves, “I am not happy with my life anymore.” But remember, people rarely share their struggles, real feelings, failures, and more.
Stats prove it as a report from Cybersmile revealed that 93% of respondents accept comparing themselves to others on social media. Another report by Oxjournal states that 40% of people who compare themselves to others feel more negatively about themselves.
How to Overcome It?
You need to start helping it by limiting your time on social media. Focus on your journey ahead and try to avoid overthinking. You can start by practising gratitude and writing about the good part of your life. This simple exercise can help you feel better by focusing on what you have.
Accept That It’s Okay Not To Be Okay
Our society has conditioned us to think that any distinct feeling you feel is not okay. If you are not happy with life, that doesn’t mean there is an issue with you. But it’s a normal human feeling at some point in life.
Rather than denying or faking it, accept your feelings and don’t fight them. Understand that it’s okay to feel lost or unfulfilled sometimes because we lead a complex life. That feeling is just a sign that you need to change something about your present life.
How To Overcome It?
Be kind to yourself, and don’t blame yourself for it. Support your real feelings like you would for your family members or friends. Accept the feelings rather than determine them wrong and understand what you must change to overcome them.
Do You Have Enough Money But Not Happy With Life?
Money is a measure of a person’s happiness in our society. When people have more money, they are happy because more than half of the population struggles to get it. You may hear them saying you have “enough money but not happy with life.”
Here, you need to understand that money can buy many things that make you happy for some time, but it isn’t all you need to be happy. Although your basic needs are met with it, relationships, social work, hobbies, personal growth, a sense of purpose, and more are important to happiness.
How to Overcome it?
Instead of believing in the direct connection between money and happiness, spend time building and nurturing relationships. Participate in activities that give you a sense of security and belonging. Try your hand at hobbies and interests that excite you, not just the ones that bring monetary benefits.
What to do When You Can’t Feel Happiness?
Some simple practices you can implement in your life to feel happiness can be:
Set New Goals
When unsatisfied with your life, you need to make a fresh start. Self-reflect and set new and meaningful goals in your life that provide you direction and make you feel motivated. It shouldn’t need to be about career or money. You can learn something new, spend more time with family, travel, and explore new places.
Count Your Blessings
Focusing too much on what you don’t have rather than valuing what you have is an important reason for constant unhappiness. It may sound cliché, but gratitude can make a big difference.
When you’re unhappy with life, write about whatever you are thankful for, including life itself. This can gradually lead you towards happiness.
Share your Feelings
Don’t keep these feelings confined, thinking about what others might think about them. Those you truly love or want to help must know so you are not alone in dealing with it.
Whether it’s your friends, family, or a professional, talk to someone you feel can offer guidance. Sometimes, even sharing your feelings can help you feel calmer.
Final Words
If you are constantly in a loop, feeling “I am not happy with my life anymore,” you must know it’s okay to feel it. Find the root cause of your unhappiness and deal with it. Apart from that, count your blessings, share your feelings, and set new goals for a new purpose in life.
Life is a journey, and finding happiness is a continuous process. Be kind and patient with yourself, and take one step at a time where you will find your HAPPINESS!
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