Why is it so hard to be happy? I have a few insights...
Do you beat yourself up about not being happy all the time?
Take my happiness test here
Do you feel guilty that no matter how hard you try or how amazing things may be in life - that you’re not over the moon ‘ecstatic’ even though you know you should be?
Do you know research has found nobody is happy all the time?⠀⠀
Researchers collected thousands of ratings from hundreds of people from all walks of life asking them on a scale 1-10 how happy are you at this moment and what is going on in your life?⠀
They discovered regardless of our external circumstances, that we live in a constant state of mild but not fully satisfying happiness.
Everyone pretty much wrote 7 all the time - from when they were buying milk, watching a son’s baseball game, pitching to a big client, missed a mortgage payment, mum diagnosed with cancer or loosing an arm.
Happiness would dip to the 2-5 for a short period of time but then would return to seven. Happiness is nothing but bobbing up and down and around our level seven happiness. ⠀⠀
This was true for extremely positive events as well. Getting a fat bonus at work, going on dream vacations, getting married - ratings would shoot up for a short period of time then settle back at seven.⠀⠀
Happiness is habitual. Learn to find happiness and fulfilment in everyday life instead of thinking you’ll be happy when... this is it guys!
Don’t underestimate your resilience or over estimate how much greener the grass is on the other side of the fence.
We may all have different things and be pursuing different goals externally, but internally the majority of us are having the same experience.
