How Can I Be Happy With Myself?
From remembering everyone’s journey is unique to prioritizing social activities that are in line with your interests, here are 12 answers to the question, “What are your best tips for being happy with yourself?”
- Look at How Far You’ve Come
- Shift Your Work Perspective
- Make Authentic Decisions
- Gain Happiness Through Self-Compassion and Self-Care
- Grow From Your Mistakes
- Avoid Comparing Yourself to Others
- Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
- Appreciate What You Have
- Remember That Happiness is Not Still Water
- Cultivate a Growth Mindset
- Set Boundaries
- Connect With Others
Look at How Far You’ve Come
One of the best ways to evaluate your worth and bring your confidence back is to look at how far you’ve come. Whether it’s external goals that you’ve accomplished or internal obstacles you’ve overcome, it helps to remember that everyone’s journey is unique.
So it’s best to avoid any comparison, recount your journey, and revel in how far you’ve come to truly be happy with yourself in the long run.
Harry Morton
Founder, Lower Street
Shift Your Work Perspective
Make your work meaningful. Work can often be negative, no fun, and something you have to do to pay the bills.
While that may be the reality for some people, it’s important to find meaning in your work to be happy with yourself. For example, if you’re a Customer Service Representative, it’s important to remember that your job isn’t just a job, but that you’re spending your time at work helping people and making customers happy.
When you shift your perspective on work, you can find meaning in it and bring happiness to yourself.
Sumeer Kaur
CEO, Lashkaraa
Make Authentic Decisions
Many people decide based on what they think they should do as opposed to what they want to do—and this can affect our happiness. Instead, I recommend identifying your personal and business values, such as knowing the type of communication you will or won’t accept from business partners or friends. Knowing who you are will help you make decisions that are true to your belief system.
Cesar Cruz
Co-founder, Sebastian Cruz Couture
Gain Happiness Through Self-Compassion and Self-Care
If you want to be happy with yourself, try practicing self-compassion and self-care. This means being kind and understanding towards yourself, just like you would with a friend.
Here are a few ways to do it:
- Focus on the present moment instead of worrying about the future or the past.
- Celebrate your strengths and accomplishments.
- Take care of your body and mind by eating healthily, getting enough sleep, exercising, and doing things you enjoy.
- Challenge negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones.
James Credland
Founder, Editor, Jimmy’s Handbook
Grow From Your Mistakes
For me, a key part of feeling happy with myself is to learn from my mistakes and strive for personal growth. Instead of dwelling on what I did wrong and what I could have done better, I try to focus on how I can take away positive lessons and use them in the future. Whenever things don’t go according to plan, I remind myself that life doesn’t always turn out as we expect.
Rather than getting discouraged, I use this as motivation to push forward and make something positive out of challenging situations. Practicing self-care activities like meditation or exercise is also essential for keeping a peaceful mind.
By accepting yourself and learning from your journey in life, you’ll gain trust in yourself, making you feel more confident and secure in who you are.
Jamie Irwin
Marketing Executive, Service Club Delivery
Avoid Comparing Yourself to Others
Many people get caught in the stagnant cycle of comparing themselves to others, but if you want to be happy yourself, it is best to take William Faulkner’s advice when he said, “Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”
In today’s world of social media, it is easy to become fixated on what others are doing or accomplishing and use their lives as the measurement of success, and this can lead to feelings of inadequacy.
However, the true measurement of your betterment as a person is how you have grown compared to your previous self, whether it be in new skills, physical fitness, education, or any other endeavors in which you have invested your time.
By using yourself as the metric of growth rather than looking to others to set that measurement, you will gain a healthier perspective and be happier with yourself.
Alexandre Bocquet
Founder and CEO, Betterly
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
I used to worry a lot. Then I read this quote by Mark Twain, “I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
To not sweat the small stuff, you need to be in the right frame of mind. That requires me, at least, to work out consistently. Not to allow crazy (crazy destructive) people in my life and to set achievable, consistent goals, so I always have a sense of accomplishment. I am also blessed to have a strong, happy relationship with my wife, children, and family.
Jeffrey Gabriel
CEO, Saw.com
Appreciate What You Have
Feeling appreciative of what you already have is a crucial cornerstone of being content with who you are and where you are in life. Consider simple techniques for cultivating thankfulness, such as keeping a gratitude notebook or creating a list of possessions you’re grateful for and post it prominently in your home.
Leo Dahlgren Yukio
Growth Strategist, Codific
Remember That Happiness is Not Still Water
Over and over, I see people saying they are seeking happiness while still asking for input from everyone in their inner circle. At that point, we are seeking approval. If we go against that input or don’t agree with the perspective, we often create some inner turmoil. Instead, get clear on your needs, strengths, desires, and values. Ultimately, if you lean into those, you’ll find more happiness. Just remember that happiness is not still water; it has waves.
Nicole Cox
Coach and Business Consultant, Your Torchlight Coach & Business Consultant
Cultivate a Growth Mindset
This is the most important thing to remember if you want to be happy with yourself. A growth mindset is a belief that your skills and intelligence can develop and grow with time and effort.
When you have a growth mentality, you don’t see setbacks as reasons to give up, but as openings for personal development. An optimistic outlook can help you gain confidence, satisfaction, and joy by encouraging you to pursue realistic goals, take calculated chances, and open yourself up to novel experiences.
Tiffany Hafler
Marketing Manager, FORTIS Medical Billing
Set Boundaries
The most essential thing you can do for your happiness is to practice creating boundaries, which is deciding what you will and will not accept in your life. When you establish reasonable limits for yourself, you show that your health and happiness are of paramount importance.
Having higher confidence in yourself can help lessen stress and anxiety and boost happiness levels. I think it’s possible to build healthy boundaries by figuring out what matters most to you, giving those things a higher priority in your life, being clear and strong about your boundaries, and refusing to give in to things that push your limits.
Gerrid Smith
Communications Manager, Property Tax Loan Pros
Connect With Others
This is the best tip for being happy with yourself because human connection is essential for our well-being and happiness. We feel a greater sense of acceptance, safety, and empowerment when we have strong social ties. Meeting new people expands our horizons, teaches us something new, and brings us enjoyment.
Prioritizing social activities that are in line with your interests and values, having discussions with people by asking questions and carefully listening to their responses, and joining a group or club focused on a shared interest or hobby are all things I feel can help you connect with others.
Cindi Keller
Communications Coordinator, The Criminal Defense Firm
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