Monday, July 20, 2015

Happiness Is...

    Too often we let the dark and twisty feelings about life clog up our minds and have a large effect on how we act as people. We focus too much on whats going wrong, and not enough on the things that are actually going right. Our mind clouds, and we replay every bad situation from the past day, week, or month in our heads. We don't get out of our pajamas and we watch Gilmore Girls for hours on end...maybe that last part is just me, but we do let the rough moments pile up until it seems we can't focus on anything but those moments.  Recently I found myself in an incredibly large slump. Wearing the same pajamas for days on end and constantly clicking next episode on Netflix because I just didn't see the point of trying to look presentable, trying to make plans, or trying to do anything productive with my life. At that point in time all I was thinking was WHAT IS THE POINT? Even if I looked somewhat decent or had fun for one day eventually the dark and twisty feelings would catch up with me, my mind would fog up again, and I would find myself in the exact situation in which I was at that moment. I was on the edge of absolutely giving up for good and never getting off the basement couch when my dog snuggled just a little bit closer to me, and I smiled. In that moment it hit me. I needed to stop focusing so much on the dark and twisty feelings and focus more on the bright ones. Not going to lie, at that instant it was incredibly hard for me to take my mind off the absolute feeling of "blegh" that was coursing through me and focus on the positives in my life. However I reached for my journal that until recently was mostly a dumping ground for all my pent up junky feelings and I came up with this....      
 
 At first it was really hard and I got a little stuck after "my dog"(which was the first thing I wrote down, because really who doesn't love their dog), but the more I thought about it and the more I forced myself to write them down it became much easier to think of what made me happy. By the end I was actually smiling for the first time in about three days. If anyone is feeling as though those dreaded dark and twisty feelings are about to take over I strongly suggest trying something like this. By writing everything I associated with the word happiness it cleared my mind of everything that had been currently bringing me down and helped open my eyes to the amazing parts of my life that bring me happiness. Now if I ever feel like I am about to slip and fall back into my gloom and doom routine, I flip to this piece of paper and read all the things I wrote and it helps me realize that that is the point. Smiling when I think about all these things on my paper is the point of looking presentable,  making plans and trying to live life to the fullest. Not letting life get you down is the point. Searching for those things in your life that make you smile is the point. 
 Happiness is the point.  





2 comments:

  1. I completely know what you mean. It's so easy to let ourselves slip into that miserable, depressed state of being that we lose sight of all of the good things in our lives! I have a wall in my room that's dedicated to pictures of great memories with wonderful people, so I can never stay too unhappy for long.
    Your blog looks really interesting! Followed! :)

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  2. I love the idea of writing down all of the things that make you happy.. And of having a journal.. As someone who struggles with stress and 'anxiety' surrounding school (which I've now finished), I know exactly how you feel with all of the bad thoughts and 'what's the point?' attitude..
    My advice would be just focus on the reason for your happiness, as you seem to have done :)
    Hope all is okay!!
    - Dottie
    (www.someteenagedirtbag.blogspot.co.uk)

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