How To Be A Little Happier in More Difficult Times

In this post we will talk about finding joy in the face of hard situations, by listing actions which we can do to be happier in difficult times. Case in Point: 2020.

Why Bother with Being Happy in Difficult Times?

First of all, sadness is a REALLY CRAPPY FEELING. I have never met a person who said “I want to be sad”. Though this blog is all about positives and happiness, I also acknowledge that it is normal to feel sadness and negative emotions, as the saying/K-Drama goes “It’s okay not to be okay”. What’s not okay is to wallow in our sadness and do nothing about it.

Second of all, wallowing in despair helps no one – not ourselves, families or communities. One French novelist even described happiness as a moral obligation. And I think he has a point, because happy people are healthier (good for you), more productive (good for the economy), and are much better company (good for everybody).

Know that joy is rarer, more difficult, and more beautiful than sadness. Once you make this all-important discovery, you must embrace joy as a moral obligation.

-Andre Gide

Actions for Happiness through the Tough Times

1. Treat yourself.

What’s happening in the world is already hard. We don’t have to make it harder by depriving ourselves pleasures from the simple things.

Treating ourselves doesn’t mean spending money all the time. It can even be done for free (or almost free), which is a big help while were on a crisis, examples are:

• Reading a book. You can borrow a book from a friend (free $$$) or re-read a favorite one (I always re-read ABNKKBSNPLAko? by Bob Ong).
• Taking a nap. A 20-30 minute power nap is enough to re-energize.
• Listening to music. I have a playlist with my favorite songs mashed up together. I don’t bother with the genre, because they were not arranged to make sense, but just to make me happy.
• Re-watching favorite shows or discovering new ones. We re-watched Ghost Fighter, one of my favorite shows growing up. Thanks Netflix.
• Grilling food outside. Grilled foods (grilled liempo, chicken barbecue…) have always reminded me of summers and Sundays I have happily spent as a child. Doing it now with our own family despite the quarantine, reminds me of good old memories and makes new good memories + meals too.

2. Vent away the worries – write or reach out.

Write about what bothers you. I don’t mean a rant on a social media, but on a journal, piece of paper, or electronic draft. Offloading our worries through writing keeps anxieties away.

Better yet, reach out and tell a friend about it. Boosting our social connections make us happier too.

3. Be your own friend.

If you’ve found yourself engaging in negative self-talk, ask yourself what you’ll tell a loved one if he/she is on the same spot as you. Sometimes, we become our worst critics and this drives us deeper on our sorrows. Being kind to ourselves is an act of kindness too.

4. Ask for professional help.

Mental health issues are real health issues. And, they can be triggered by challenging situations. Get professional help if you need it.

5. Focus on the positives and be grateful.

However bad the times are, there are good things to be grateful for happening in parallel. Take a cue from Catriona Gray, and see situations with a silver lining.

6. Enrich yourself.

Take this opportunity to enrich yourself. There are courses available right now that can help us be more knowledgeable in our careers and life in general. Most of them are free. If you have time, please check out these websites’ offerings:

• Department of Agriculture – e-Learning for Agriculture and Fisheries
• Coursera
• EdX

7. If you can, get closer to nature.

I have observed that a little sunshine and fresh air instantly improves my mood, and I feel so blessed that living outside the city gives us access to nature. And according to a study, connecting to nature improves both health and happiness. Enjoy the outdoors if you can.

8. Catch up on sleep, exercise, and other self-care habits.

A difficult time is also a perfect time to adapt self-care practices. Catch up on sleep and/or ease into an exercise routine. Other self-care practices to try include journalling, eating more veggies or just saying “NO” to activities you don’t enjoy.

9. Breathe deep.

I have noticed that breathing deeply and slowly immediately gives a mental break and calmness, even in times of great stress. And science backs that up, deep breathing was found to slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure. Focusing and practicing deep breaths are said to also aid in disengaging from negative thoughts.

10. Limit bad news intake.

Personally, I find that watching too much news triggers all sorts of negative emotions, including sadness and sometimes, rage. I watch news only at night to avoid all the gloominess from taking over a great chunk of my day. And doing this “news diet” really helped my mental state. I also did a social media cleanse, and that helped a lot too.

11. Lend a hand.

We’re not the only ones feeling the blow of the hard times. Help another soul. Let’s lift each other up.

• Donate your excess – whether food, clothes or books.
• Check up on people, especially those who may be alone during the community quarantine, they might just need a friendly voice to cheer them up.
• Support local and small business by buying what you need from them.

12. Quit being a victim.

While it’s easy to assume the role of a victim and blame everything to circumstance, doing so will only prolong our suffering. Quitting the victim role shifts our focus to solving our problems, which then opens up ways to finding solutions that improve our situations.

Focus on What Really Matters

No matter how hard the going gets, never lose focus on what really matters. For me, that is FAMILY.

Focusing on the people who matters most, keeps us grounded on the what is truly essential and makes let go of the superficial. This gives us the balance and the strength needed to weather all the storms that may come our way.

When the going gets tough, the tough happy gets going. Thank you for your time!

If you found this post helpful or think this may help another, kindly share and spread the love!