Proven reasons why you are not as happy as you should be

Synthetic happiness is created or not. Habits provide lasting happiness. Extremely happy people have refined behaviours that keep them joyful daily.

New habits are hard to form, but breaking bad ones is easier.

Many harmful behaviours cause unhappiness. Eliminating these negative behaviours can boost your happiness quickly:

Negative people don't solve problems, so they're bad for you. To boost self-esteem, they desire party members. People typically listen to complainers to avoid appearing insensitive or harsh, but there's a narrow line between being sympathetic and getting dragged into their negative emotional spirals.

Set boundaries and distance yourself to avoid getting carried away. If someone smoked, would you sit there all afternoon inhaling secondhand smoke? You should isolate yourself from negative people. Asking how they'll solve their difficulties sets boundaries. The complainant will then relax or change the topic.

You should be among people who motivate you to be better, and you probably are. How about those who bring you down? Why let them into your life? Whoever makes you feel worthless, nervous, or uninspired wastes your time. Avoid such people because life is too short. Release them and boost your emotional intelligence.

Social media use and happiness were examined in the Happiness Research Institute's Facebook Experiment. Half of the study participants used Facebook as usual, while the other half did not for a week.

The results were stunning. At the end of the week, Facebook-free participants reported better life satisfaction and decreased melancholy and loneliness. The researchers also found that Facebook users were 55% more stressed.

Remember that Facebook and social media rarely reflect reality. People can airbrush and colourize their life on social media. Social media shouldn't be avoided, but use it carefully and with perspective.

You can see amazing things every day if you look. Technology has expanded our knowledge and shrunk the world. The show raises the standard for amazement, which is rarely mentioned. That's unfortunate since real astonishment is one of the most uplifting feelings.

Genuine fear humiliates. It reminded us we are not the centre of the universe. Awe inspires and amazes, underlining life's richness and our ability to contribute and be captivated by it. Shrugging when you see something fresh makes it hard to be happy. Be amazed again!

Many people react to sadness by isolating themselves from others, yet study shows it's the worst thing you can do. This is a big error since socialising, even if you don't like it, boosts mood.

We all have days when we want to hide under our blankets and not chat, but when it becomes a trend, it damages our attitude. When hardship makes you antisocial, force yourself out and socialise. A difference is immediately apparent.

Happy people need control over their lives, so guilt is incompatible with happiness. If you blame others or circumstances for unpleasant occurrences, you've given up control over your life, which is bad for your mood.

It's hard to be happy without control, but trying to control too much can make you sad. Especially with humans. Only you can control your life. When you want to control people, it will backfire and make you unhappy. Even if you can control someone temporarily, it usually entails force or terror, and these tactics won't make you feel good.

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