5 Ways To Be Content With The Life You Have

You spend a lot of time with yourself. I think especially as someone who overthinks, hearing your own thoughts on blast all day can be really exhausting.

Experiencing your own body day in and day out is like being in the same house day after day. It’s your house and you’re not going anywhere, but sometimes getting out of the house and into a new environment for a little while can make you appreciate your own house.

If you feel down or tired of yourself, maybe you need a reset not a complete demolition (even though overthinking can make you feel that way). Let’s step out of our typical overthinking thoughts for a moment and take a vacation to a new perspective to see how we can take things we may be doing everyday and flip them into a brighter mindset shift to make life a little happier. 

Measure If Your Expectations Are Too Unattainable

I know for me I can get caught up in my old perfectionism ways from time to time. I think the biggest way for me to lose my sense of happiness and contentment is creating unattainable goals. We are only human and have a cap on energy levels and time. I use to overextend myself with a list of about 15 things I had to do each day and would inevitably get so burnt out, depressed, and exhausted so quickly that my goals weren’t even fun anymore. 

Instead Assess: How attainable are my goals? Do I want long term or short term goals with this idea? Can I take anything off my list today that’s no necessary? Let’s keep our to do list to 5 things total today? 

Stop Overextending Yourself

This can go hand in hand with the one above. Hustle culture is ugly. There’s a picture presented with hustling and grinding that does not show the behind the scenes of how quickly it can deteriorate a person if you’re not conscious of this. I think there’s a time and a place in life where this may be necessary, but all gas and no breaks is a quick way I have personally become really unhappy. Resting and resetting in addition to doing what you have to do, can keep what you have to do manageable without burning out as quickly.

Instead Assess: Am I making time to rest and reset? Am I making a time limit to cut off work/school/responsibilities? Where am I spreading myself too thin? Is there something I’m doing just for me that is a want instead of a need?

Stop Running From Yourself

I was a pro at running from myself, and I will say nothing made me more unhappy. Making the choice to simply sit with myself and learn about myself has actually been really enjoyable. Easy? Absolutely not. But valuable? Absolutely. I was a very active participant in escapism to get away from my thoughts or truly knowing myself because I was scared and avoidant of the effort it would take. I was drinking, disassociating, and surrounded by too many people for my mental capacity to distract myself. But learning my ins and outs, my dark and light side, and learning to love each part of me has made me really happy.

Instead Assess: What’s your favorite thing about yourself? What’s a trait you would love to adopt for yourself? What’s a limiting belief you have and how can we challenge that? What’s one thing you enjoy doing by yourself? Is there a fear holding you back from connecting deeper to yourself? 

Release A Lack Mindset 

It’s easy to focus on what you don’t have, because you want something that’s not in your reality. So much so, that you miss the things you do have. Living in a lack mindset was something I was unknowingly doing that robbed my happiness for a long time. Shifting that perspective and focusing on all the things you have and appreciating the things that are going right and well for you can bring a level of happiness to you too.

Instead Assess: What’s going well? What do I have that I was hoping I had 5 years ago? What’s 5 basic necessities I have? What went well for me today? Was there a moment today I was focusing on lack?

Developing Self compassion

Being your own worst enemy is tough. I have been there and struggle with it day in and day out. Being ridiculed in your head is a tough way to go through life, but training my responses to myself to be more compassionate has truly brought more ease and contentment to my life. It’s easy to overthink when you’ve done something wrong, but it makes it a little less anxiety provoking when you know at least you have you even if nothing else is going your way. 

Instead Assess: how could I have spoken more kindly to myself today? How do I speak to my friends and why do I or do I not speak like that to myself? Ask what phrases you won’t accept saying to yourself anymore. 

These things aren’t quick fixes for happiness. But when I would try to get help on this stuff that was making me less happy, a lot of the “happiness” I stumbled upon was either fleeting or not sustainable. However, if you’re good with yourself and you’re making an effort to love who you are and learn to work with your active mind, it makes the happiness very sustainable and attainable.

If you want to read more about How To Be Happy As An Overthinker click here.