3 Small Things That Make A HUGE Difference In Your Overall Happiness

TRUTH: You really are your own best friend.

We spend so much time trying to find a shortcut to happiness that we don’t even realize when we’ve missed the mark. Instead of focusing on the things we can change to get to that place, we let others dictate how happy we are.

For once, everything’s going great in your life. You’ve been dating someone for a few years who adores you (and practically thinks you hung the moon), you have a job that you love and a beautiful view of the city where you live. Yet, you still can’t escape the feeling that something’s missing.

YourTango’s Senior VP Melanie Gorman, Counselor and Therapist Dr. Pat Love, Relationship Coach Barbara Ann Williams, Board Certified Coach Joan Jerkovich, and MICI-Certified CoachKathy Ramsperger offer three ways you can fill that void and FINALLY find the happiness that you’ve been craving:

1. Give yourself some much-deserved TLC.

Barbara Ann Williams puts it best when she says “I can’t expect anybody else to do for me what I’m not doing for me. So I need to pick [myself] up when I’m down, don’t feel too well […]Give your own self a pick-me-up.

2. Let go of those negative thoughts.

Negative thinking can really weigh you down. We often overlook the fact that happiness starts with ourselves.

If you’re not happy with yourself, it’s only logical that everything you makes you feel empty. Change the way you think, and you’ll see serious results.

3. Find a hobby you love, and start doing it — ASAP!

This may sound too easy, but it works. Keeping yourself occupied with something that you love doing (especially if you’re super great at it) will pay off in the end.

Originally published at YourTango