We all want to be happy more than anything else. But do you find yourself perpetually unhappy? You might be sabotaging your own happiness by engaging in unproductive mental habits. You may be unknowingly focusing on and doing things that are detrimental to your happiness. While you may be thinking that doing these things will lead to happiness but instead, they add misery and sap the joy left in you.

In this article, I am going to guide you in the mental habits that suck the happiness from your life. You will be able to avoid them and live a happy life. Every time you feel unhappy, try to pinpoint the root cause and eliminate it immediately. This way, it will become second nature and when you catch yourself indulging in the habit you will automatically stop.

1.Failure to forgive others

When you don’t forgive other people, you keep ruminating on what they did and limit happiness on yourself. Learning to let go sets you free and saves you from concentering on people who do not care about you. Similarly, you might be holding a grudge on someone who did not intentionally go out to hurt you

2.Not forgiving yourself

Just failing to forgive other people, failing to forgive yourself will leave you with a feeling of guilt. Forgive yourself and understand that everyone makes mistakes. What you should do is strive not to repeat the mistake. Remember what has already been done cannot be undone but only avoided in future and go easy on yourself.

3.Overthinking

Another mental habit that sucks on your happiness is overthinking an over analyzing things. Stop making conclusions that are not suited to situations. Similarly, do not overwork your mind by continuously thinking about issues. Instead look for ways to solve the problem, live with it or get out of it rather than just contemplating it.

4.Pessimism

Seeing the glass as half empty will leave you feeling weighed down by life. Look at things positively and expect the best. This is because until a situation has come to pass you can’t tell with certainty how it will turn out like Even when things turn out lousy look for ways to make them right or believe the right person will come along and do it if you can’t.

5.Prioritizing other people

Giving other people priority instead of yourself is a recipe for getting let down. People are self-centered and they will disappoint you. Therefore if you put them first and they fail to return the favor, you will be disappointed and it will affect your happiness.

6.Ungratefulness

If you want your happiness to wane live an ungrateful life. On the contrary, when you are content with where you are and what you have, nothing will move you. You will take everything in your stride and be happy no matter if your world is crumbling down.

7.Relying on others for your happiness

Nothing will suck the happiness out of your life than depending on other people t make you happy. Everyone is occupied with the stuff in their own lives and they are left with little time to commit to your happiness. Stop waiting for others to make you happy but rely on yourself to be joyful. This way you will be joyful whether you are alone or with others. You can make yourself happy by giving yourself a treat every day, love yourself as you are, meditate, travel, find yourself and have some hobbies.

8.Comparing yourself with others
Comparing yourself with other people will leave you unhappy because no two people are the same. Some people are better than you and others worse off than you are. Learn to accept your lot in life and do the best you can humanely do in all situations. Wanting to be in someone else’s place will only leave you disappointed and feeling like a failure.

9.Associating with toxic people

Keeping the company of negative people will suck all the joy from your life and turn you into sulky people like them. To avoid falling into this trap, minimise the amount of time you spend with toxic people and if you can cut them off completely to preserve your sanity and happiness.

10.Over-criticizing yourself
Learn not to put too much pressure on yourself because no one is perfect. Just because you forgot to send some birthday wishes for your boyfriend or girlfriend doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. There’s always a next time when you can show them your love. Similarly, it doesn’t mean you are not intelligent because someone else did better in that exam. Learn that at some point everyone fails and we all make mistakes.

The final word

You can maintain a status of perpetual happiness if you kick the above-discussed habits out of your life. Don’t allow bad mental habits to keep you unhappy and limit your enjoyment of life. Become happy once more and maintain it by forgiving those who wrong you, forgiving yourself, stopping overthinking and pessimism, being grateful and being the source of your happiness. Similarly, do not compare yourself to other people, do not concentrate on the past or future and cut off toxic people from your life.

If you get rid of these habits, you will become happy and lead a more fruitful life since happiness affects all aspects of your life. Do not expect an instant change in your life but eliminating the behaviours will eventually pay off.