Many times during my adult life when I have been in an unhappy mood I have looked at the blessings in my life and thought, “I have so much! Shouldn’t I be happier?”
Shouldn’t I Just Be Grateful & Happy?
If you live in the United States or a similar country, odds are, you have a nice (relative to some less wealthy and less developed parts of the world) place to live, food in your pantry and refrigerator, plenty of clothes in your closet, and an easy way to get to where you are going – either with your own car or reliable public transportation.
You probably also have at least a few people who care about you in your life – whether that be a spouse or significant other, children, parents, other relatives, co-workers, neighbors, or friends.
And if you’re reading this, you have a computer, tablet or smartphone and may even have a bunch of other electronic gadgets that make your life more convenient, enhance your connections with others, and open up access to unlimited information on th Internet.
So with all this, you may be asking the same question that I have asked at times over the years, “I have so much, shouldn’t I just be grateful and happy?”
Cue the Guilt….
And then, if you’re anything like me, you start to beat yourself up over this. You start to feel guilty about having so much and not being happy. Or you start to ask the dreaded follow up question, “What’s wrong with me?”
That running dialogue in your head now has you convinced that you’re either a bad person because you’re ungrateful, or that you’re somehow flawed and incapable of happiness because a “normal” person would definitely be happy in the same set of circumstances.
It’s OK to Be Unhappy
Here’s the thing. For a variety of reasons, being unhappy sometimes is a normal part of being a person. It doesn’t matter how successful you are, how much money you have in the bank, or whether you’re in a great, loving relationship. Even if you’re doing great in these areas or others, unhappiness can still sometimes sneak up on you and kick you in the pants.
It doesn’t mean you’re bad, ungrateful or somehow flawed, it means you’re a normal human being. Accomplishing what you want in life isn’t about avoiding unhappiness, but it definitely is about how you respond to feeling unhappy and what you do about it.
Stay tuned for the rest of this series where we will be sharing strategies for responding to your occasional unhappy moods!
Your Assignment
Start to pay attention to your “unhappiness triggers.” What kinds of events, circumstances or situations bring on your foul moods? Make a list of at least ten things that put a frown on your face. This list will be important for the second article in this series when I talk about “unhappiness triggers” and what you can do to lift your spirits and continue designing and creating your Custom Built Life™!
