What It Takes To Be Happy

No matter your current relationship status, happiness is always in your cards. You just have to be willing to work for it!

It’s time to reframe your relationship and make changes that will welcome the good and turn away the bad.

Here are 3 ways on what it takes to be happy and become a happier you:

1. Trust your gut.

Some of us are more in tune with our intuition than others, but those "gut feelings" we have are there for good reason. You know the ones. You get a sudden urge to take a new route to work to avoid morning rush hour. Or the feeling you get when you know that someone is lying, even though you don’t have any real reason to think so.

In retrospect, our intuition is often spot on; we just have to get better at trusting it.

Gut feelings are not the end all be all, but listening to what they’re telling you can point you in the right direction. Our intuition is the closest thing we have to a personal compass, and listening to it will lead us toward the good stuff and away from the things that don’t really make us happy.

2. Draw boundaries.

One of the biggest issues that couples face is not having clear boundaries. Boundaries are very different from walls. Walls don’t let anyone in, while boundaries let only the right people in. If you haven’t set any boundaries with your partner yet, don’t worry, it isn’t too late.

More often than not, drawing boundaries will require a conversation. Have exactly what works for you and what doesn’t work for you drawn out, they’ll likely know what works for them. If you decide not to talk about it, don’t jump on them the second one of your boundaries are crossed — it's not like they can read your mind. 

Without boundaries, you’re at risk of letting people walk all over you, becoming co-dependent, or just feeling endlessly drained. How are you supposed to be happy dealing with all that? If there’s too much clutter from emotions and opinions that don’t belong to you, it’s time to do some house cleaning.

Clear out the junk so you can get in touch with your own feelings for once. With that clarity comes strength, and then you’ll be more available to let your guard down with the right person.

3. Live a full life.

We tend to think that we’ll be happy once we find love or once we’re in our ideal job, but it usually works the other way around.

The more you honor where you are now and seek out things that really make you happy, the more likely it is that awesome people and opportunities will start flowing your way. This requires knowing what sort of things make you happy and pursuing them!

Living a full life might mean taking up a hobby that you’ve been thinking about for years, focusing on self-care, or getting involved in more social activities. Pursuing things that make you feel good will boost your confidence, which is exactly what will help you find what you’re looking for.

Don’t be that person sitting around wishing for an opportunity to fall in your lap, get up and make it happen.

Everyone wants to be happy, but sometimes, our idea of happiness becomes blurred and seems impossible to achieve. Remaining positive and knowing you’re worth it will be the driving factor in helping you attain true happiness.