How to be Happy in Times of Adversity

Being happy when life is running smoothly comes off naturally, but what about when things are challenging? You may be struggling to land your first job after graduation, facing a workplace burnout, or looking for a new job that pays well. Regardless of what adversity you are experiencing right now, is it still possible to be happy? It takes more effort than usual, yes, but you can still find a tiny bit of happiness in life regardless of what you are dealing with. 

Here’s an insight on how to stay happy despite adversity:

Reward Yourself with Sweet Treats

Sweet treats may not heal your problem, but it helps you smile a little bit. Even if you are not a fan of anything sweet, consuming it once in a while might help you to be less sad. Moreover, it is cheap! One easy example of sweet treats you can find almost everywhere is ice cream; it is sweet and it does not have to be chocolate-flavored if you think chocolate is too sweet for you. People are naturally attuned to what makes them happy in their daily lives, and there is a strong rationale for evaluating how more naturalistic, everyday activities may also boost positive affect, happiness, and well-being. 

According to this research, a combination of gratefulness activity and eating ice cream, whether alone or together, resulted in a greater positive impact. Even basic, spontaneous daily activities can result in an increase in a good mood. This pleasant impact experience may be one mediation channel through which positive thinking and daily activities are significant in improving happiness and well-being. So, why not try and get yourself a sweet treat and see if this can make you a bit happy?

Read Also: How to Survive Your First Year in Your First Job 

Run to Someone

When something really difficult happens and you keep it all to yourself, you are inclined to exaggerate it in your own head. Talking about it with others might help you put things into perspective and come up with better answers to the situation. The importance of connection in happiness cannot be underestimated. According to research, people who feel alone are more likely to be sad and isolation can be alleviated by cultivating a feeling of togetherness. 

Spend more time with your closest friends and family. It does not matter if you connect in person, through chat, or video calls; having someone to accompany you can make you feel less lonely, which can actually be the main reason you find it hard to be happy. If those people are busy, you can try reaching out to your closest coworkers, since you spend most of your days with them. Get to know them on a more personal level than your day-to-day interactions. Who knows that one of them can be your new best friend, right?

Give Back

Do you know that you can feel a bit (or a lot) happy after sharing something with someone? A study revealed that there is a connection between happiness and the acts of giving. Giving to others, researchers suggest, triggers a brain region associated with happiness and the reward cycle. Happiness has been connected to the activation of the ventral striatum, which has been demonstrated to play a part in the brain's reward system, providing us with a sense of fulfillment when we engage in a positive activity. 

When people hear the words "giving back," one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is donating money. Yet, you might ask if donating with a selfish motive negates the merits of doing so. "People had nicer emotions when they gave more money – but only if they had a choice about how much to donate," according to a study. Thus, you should donate because you want to, not because you have to. Still, you do not have to feel bad if one of your motivations for donating is to make yourself happy. 

Going through the pandemic is a tough period for most of us and and it is understandable if you feel like it is hard to be happy these days. Life can throw setbacks at you that it gets hard and to be truly happy, but remember this: happiness often comes from the smallest things in life. Find reasons to be a bit happy every day and as time goes by you will realize that happiness is not a goal to achieve; but a life-long journey.

Read Also: In-Demand Skills to Learn While Working Full-Time 

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