Does your happiness rely on one major factor in your life? Then it’s time to start diversifying your source of happiness.
In today’s society, many people are trying to figure out how to prioritize their mental health. Most focus on achieving some sort of happiness in their life but where is that happiness coming from? For you that might be coming from one sole person, hobby, etc. However, it is important to achieve happiness through multiple sources. You need to diversify your happiness.
For some, this concept might seem foreign so let me provide an example. If you were looking for a new job you wouldn’t just put in one application and cross your fingers (at least I hope not). You would want to put in multiple applications for positions to increase the likelihood of you getting an offer. We learn early on that putting all of our eggs in one basket is the best idea because what if we lose that basket? We now have nothing to rely on and have to go back to the drawing board with a fresh piece of paper.
So, what steps does one take to diversify their happiness?
First, we need to look back on our life and measure the weight of happiness certain factors give us and determine which ones weigh the most or have the most positive impact on our emotions. For example, you may be someone who feels socially starved when you don’t socialize after a couple of days. In that case, I would consider social interactions with family, friends, peers, etc. to be a huge impact factor on your emotions. Making sure to dedicate time to plan an outing with friends or going back to your hometown to visit your parents might be a great addition to your normal schedule.
Once you understand where your main source of happiness comes from, what gives you the motivation to live life and wake up each morning, continue to find other sources as well. Personally, I would at least figure out my top three sources. After you do write your three sources of happiness somewhere convenient where you will see them. For example, write it on a post-it note and place it on your mirror, fridge, corkboard, etc. Wherever is most convenient for you.
The reason for placing it somewhere visible is so you don’t forget to cut out time within your schedule to appeal to those sources of happiness. If they are easily accessible activities, places, or people then make time at least once a week or more to partake in it. If it is something less accessible then figure out if this is something that can be accomplished biweekly, monthly, every two months, etc. Also if you ever notice that the sources of happiness you wrote down are not contributing positively to your emotion like anticipated, you can also rearrange and change the list. This should be forever evolving just like we as people do.
I look forward to you diversifying your happiness so you never lose out on positivity. Feel free to comment and let me know where you often find happiness. Also, remember this exercise should never feel stressful and if it is then maybe this exercise isn’t for you which is completely okay.