4 thought hacks to make you slightly happier 😁

Things you could think that make you happier

Many things can make us unhappy or frustrated. We could learn to think a bit differently to take some of the energy of those thoughts down.

1. I “get” to do X

Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash

Some normal everyday frustrations have a high emotional toll, because they stack up over weeks and months of repetition. Like commuting or doing the dishes. We can take a bit of its emotional energy down by rephrasing it as “I get to do this”. The alternative could be being in a war torn region where everyday life is impossible. Or if you were born 200 years ago and had to commute by bullock cart. You “get” to do most modern things. So in many ways, it’s an improvement.

2. This is all I got

Look away from the options, there is no alternative

Sometimes you maybe dreading a current reality because you’re stuck here while you could be there, in a better situation. For example, you’re stuck living in a small town for whatever personal circumstance. But it eats you up that you could’ve been living in the big city living it up. So you could think that this is all you got. It’s either this or suffering in depths of despair. There is no choice.

3. Life is meaningless

A massively large clump that is our universe

You’re a micro dot living on a dot that circles another insanely small dot. There are trillions of stars and galaxies at enormous distances. Everybody you’ve ever known will be dead in a few decades and eventually all life will die. In the eternity of time and space, you disappear as soon as you come into existence.

Your tiny being and tiny life and the fact that you’ll be 5 minutes late to some meeting where all the people present will be dead soon – it’s all mind numbingly meaningless.

In this small meaningless speck of time, your suffering is meaningless even in the grand scheme of things of your own life. So whatever this circumstance is, you might as well rethink how meaningless this whole charade is, and suffer slightly less.

4. Don’t expect, just observe and accept

Social media enrages you because you EXPECT civil behaviour from others. Politicians piss you off because you EXPECT them to represent your interests. Expect less. Expect nothing. Some dude just cut you off? Ok that’s whatever, let’s keep driving. Politician is corrupt? That’s pretty much most humans so let’s see if there’s someone better next time.

Then how will society get better?

Taking action and suffering within, is the distinction I want to bring out. Take action where you must, but suffer less within yourself. Having no high bar in your mind that others have to clear, will put you at ease a bit.

These ways of thinking may help you feel a wee bit better.