You might have noticed that you get sad when you’re around unhappy people. Perhaps negative comments from them suck the happiness out of you.
We can’t help but pick up the emotions of others. It’s normal. Researchers call this emotional contagion.
This may become crippling if other people’s negative emotions affect your happiness easily.
To help you take charge of your own life, let’s discuss how to not let others affect your happiness in daily life.
Why It’s Important To Live For Yourself
Living for yourself means taking charge of your thoughts, emotions, and actions. It’s about not giving people the power to control your happiness or your life. You ought to do this for three main reasons:
1. You Control Your Happiness
When you live for yourself, you stay in control of your own happiness. You don’t allow others to determine how you feel. You might get upset when bad things happen, but you know how to find joy and happiness from within.
Read this article on how to make yourself happy when you are sad.
Your self-esteem comes from within as well. You don’t need others to validate your worth. You know you’re a valuable, amazing person worthy of love and respect. You’re confident in the choices you make in life.
Inner joy and balance make you grateful. When you practice gratitude, you forget your worries about the future, make peace with the past, and enjoy your precious time in the present. You don’t need others to make you happy because you’re content with your life.
2. You Stay True To Yourself
When you are the only person in charge of your life, other people’s opinions about you don’t matter. You can stay true to yourself. You know what you stand for and what you believe in.
You have your own set of values that guide your decisions. You don’t need anyone else’s approval for the choices you make.
This benefits your community and everyone around you. You won’t be afraid to step forward and share your unique gifts with the world.
3. Your Life Satisfaction Increases
Living for yourself increases your overall satisfaction and fulfillment in life. You feel empowered to create the life you want. Nobody pushes you around or forces you to do things against your will.
When you live for yourself, you get to do what you love. You get to be around people you enjoy being with. You make choices that best suit your needs and wants. This leads to a more enjoyable, fulfilling life.
How To Not Let Others Affect Your Happiness
We’ve come up with eight ways to help you stop letting other people control your happiness in daily life.
Work On Your Mindset
The first step is to work on your mindset. You need to change the way you think about yourself and your happiness.
When you notice you’re getting upset, take a step back and acknowledge your feelings. Don’t try to push them away.
Once you acknowledge your feelings, ask yourself why you’re upset. Is it because of something someone said or did? Or is it because of your own thoughts and beliefs?
If it’s because of something someone said or did, remind yourself that you can’t control what other people say or do. You can only control your own thoughts and emotions.
Work on remaining positive and constructive in your thinking. Fill your mind with positive, uplifting thoughts. This will help you feel better and stay in control of your emotions.
Remember, working on your mindset takes time. Don’t be too harsh on yourself whenever you slip and find yourself thinking negatively. Stay the course of change, and you’ll always control your happiness.
Evaluate Your Current Relationships
Evaluate your relationships with other people to understand their impact on you.
Do the people you hang out with often uplift your mood or upset you?
If your current friends make you feel bad about yourself, it could be time to cut ties with them. It won’t be easy, but it’s necessary for your well-being.
Understand that negative friendships don’t just affect your happiness. They take your power to create the future you want in the long run.
Cultivate relationships with people who make you feel good about yourself. These are the types of people you want in your life. They will help you stay positive and motivated and be there for you when you need them.
If you aren’t surrounded by people who lift you up, know that your own company is better than bad company! If you need some help being happy alone, read up on these topics:
Set Healthy Boundaries
Healthy boundaries are limits you establish to protect yourself from negativity.
Setting such boundaries requires you to identify your values and live by them. Don’t compromise yourself for anyone!
When you have personal boundaries, you’ll know when to say no. It’ll prevent you from overextending yourself or being a people pleaser. Doing things only to please other people is self-destructive behavior that eats away at your happiness.
Also, without boundaries, it’s easy for other people to manipulate you and make you feel bad all the time. They will take advantage of your kindness and good nature. So, be assertive and learn to say no when you need to.
Get Comfortable Being Alone
Being alone is different from being lonely. When you are comfortable being by yourself, you stop depending on other people emotionally.
You’ll have time to listen to your thoughts and get used to them.
This will help you learn how your mind works. You can separate helpful beliefs from destructive ones and direct your mind to focus only on the positive things.
Explore Your Potential
Engage in new activities to explore your potential. Doing new things helps you grow as a person. It also gives you a sense of accomplishment and boosts your confidence.
Finding new hobbies also makes your life more meaningful. You can try gardening, cycling, photography, or cooking. Pursue things that interest you, even if they are not popular. It’s okay to be different!
When you have a strong sense of self, you won’t let other people dictate your happiness. You’ll realize that their opinion of you doesn’t matter.
Make Self-Care A Habit
Self-care is an act of self-love. It’s a way to take control of your life and happiness.
Self-care includes physical activities like exercise and eating right. It also involves emotional and mental care such as relaxation, stress management, and positive thinking, e.g. saying affirmations of self-love.
When you make self-care a habit, you’ll develop a more positive outlook in life. You’ll also feel more capable of handling whatever comes your way.
Learn From Your Mistakes
Mistakes exist to teach us key life lessons.
Avoid getting stuck on them. You’ll miss the point. Instead, learn from your mistakes and respond to them gently. Also, avoid beating yourself up over them. It’s not helpful and it will only waste your mental energy.
Let Others Take Responsibility For Their Emotions
You are not responsible for other people’s happiness. It’s not up to you to make them feel better or fix their problems.
It’s not your job to protect them from the consequences of their choices or keep them from experiencing pain. You can’t make them happy and you can’t prevent them from being unhappy.
All you can do is take responsibility for your own emotions and let others do the same.
Final Thoughts
True happiness comes from within.
No person in the world can take away your joy without your permission. The people and situations in your life don’t have any power over you!
You allow others to affect you when you pay attention to them. When you focus on what’s going wrong, that’s what will expand in your life. When you focus on what’s going right, you’ll attract more of the same into your life. You always have a choice about what you focus on.
So, the next time you find yourself getting caught up in what other people are doing or saying, remember that you have the power to control your own happiness. Choose to focus on the positive and let go of what’s out of your control.
For more step-by-step guidance on your happiness journey, visit the a little dose of happy blog.
