Feeling unhappy?

Feeling unhappy ?

Comparisons will make you discontent. Comparing yourself to others can make you feel like a failure; unworthy, incomplete, empty, worthless, jealous, restless and ungrateful.

The problem is, we live in a culture where advertisers are constantly giving us perfect images to compare ourselves with: people with perfect bodies, hair, homes and cars and spouses and children, and they give us the illusion that this perfection is somehow possible.

Here's what to do: When you feel discontent, get out your calculator and start counting your blessings.

1) If you feel unhappy because you haven't advanced in your job as fast as you'd hoped, imagine how you'd feel if you lived in a country or a time when advancement wasn't possible. Imagine being an "untouchable" in India, sentenced to generation after generation of poverty with no chance of escape.

2) Remember all the times you have experienced God’s grace and mercy.

2) Read You are Too Blessed to Be Stressed by Jewel Diamond Taylor

3) Your words have power to create. Your spoken word vibrates throughout God's universe and returns to you in like experiences. Say repeatedly…”I am enough. I have enough.”

4) Read Paul’s letter from a jail cell in the Bible …

“I have learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” (The Message Bible, Philippians 4:10-14)

5) Laughing is like internal jogging. A sense of humor is healthy because it increases your levels of endorphins. Endorphins are your body's natural painkillers. They are stress hormones. Laughter is nature's prescription with no side effects.

6) Happiness comes from the word "happening". Because we are surrounded with so much stimulation, activity and focus on the rich and famous, we think we're not happy if something isn't "happening." Could you possibly fear being still and silent? Do you think something is missing or wrong with you if you're not busy achieving and running around in circles? Are you putting too much stress on yourself to achieve, impress, accumulate and fill up your calendar with activities? Are you impatient with the process of your journey to lose weight, finish college, save money, build your business or build a relationship? This impatience could translate into unhappiness. You could be focusing on the end result instead of enjoying the moment and recognizing your progress. How unfortunate it would be to waste your life living in the valley of "I'm not enough" and come to the end of your life to realize you walked through your life with your eyes closed to the beauty in you and in this world. You may not have everything you want, however, you can learn to enjoy and feel blessed with what you have. Gratitude, optimism and enthusiasm are magnets for creating feelings of satisfaction, wholeness, contentment and joy.

6) Get a life...find a purpose beyond your own self-gratification and ego.

You are here for a reason. You can make a positive difference in the lives of people right near you. You don't have to go very far to make a difference. Once you shift your focus from yourself...you begin to extend yourself to others and enlarge your heart. This is a pathway to real happiness. Oh...I know this sounds so fluffy, mamby pamby and so out there...but I have found this outlook to be so true and a remedy for my moments of feeling unhappy. Turn off the TV, stop staring at the magazines and get out there and taste, see, hear and enjoy your life or be still for a change...reflect...meditate...take some deep breaths ... pray ...simplify your life...change your scenery... laugh .... dance .... create something with your hands ... visit a friend ... take a trip .... paint the walls in your home with bright colors ... wear something colorful today ... get a new hairstyle .... help the unfortunate .... visit a school ... hold a baby ... plant some flowers .... write in your journal ... enjoy nature (ocean, the mountains, nearby park) ... walk barefoot in the grass .... go on a fast ... have a good cry ... write letters to those in prison, in the hospital or on active duty in the war....visit someone in a convalescent home ... by yourself some flowers .... write a poem .... bake some cookies and give them to your neighbor ... write a thank you note to someone who has touched your life .... visit an old favorite book .... take yourself to your favorite restaurant ... go for a long walk ... sing out loud .... be still and listen to the sounds outside your window... place your hands over your heart and feel the heartbeat of your life... you are still here... God has given you one more day... now what will you do with this gift?

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~ Meister Eckhart

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." --Melody Beattie

"Gratitude is our most direct line to God and the angels. If we take the time, no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, we can find something to be thankful for. The more we seek gratitude, the more reason the angels will give us for gratitude and joy to exist in our lives." --Terry Lynn Taylor

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