If you want to be happier then NEVER do these 9 things

If you want to be happier then NEVER do these 9 things

via Inc.com by Jeff Haden

If you’re less than happy with your life — either personally or professionally — the problem isn’t education, upbringing , a lack of opportunities, being held back by other people, or even bad luck.

If you’re unhappy, the problem is you. While approximately 50 percent of your happiness (your happiness set-point) is determined by personality traits that are largely hereditary, the other 50 percent is determined by factors totally within your control: your health, your career, your relationships, and your interests and pursuits.

If you’re unhappy, you have the power to change that. Since the best addition often comes from subtraction, start by deciding to do these things:

1. Never equate acquisition with satisfaction.

Psychologists call it hedonistic adaptation, the phenomenon of people’s automatically shifting the joy of a new purchase back toward their emotional norm.

Or, in non-science speak, it’s why that “aaah” feeling you get when you look at your new house, new car, new furniture, or new clothes quickly goes away.

The only way to recapture that “aaah” feeling is to buy something else, an addictive cycle that never leads to long-term satisfaction. Why? That’s not how we’re made.

Real, lasting satisfaction comes from doing, not from having. Want to feel good about yourself? Help someone.

Knowing you’ve made a difference in another person’s life is an “aaah” that lasts forever.

It’s a cycle that is also addictive — but this time, in a good way.

2. Never mistake political gain for achievement.

Infighting, positioning, trying to look better by making other people look worse–playing politics can help get you ahead.

But if you win by politics, you ultimately lose, because political success is based on the impulses, whims, and caprices of other people — other people you don’t even like. That means today’s success can be tomorrow’s failure, and success or failure is largely outside your control.

Real achievements are based on merit. They can’t be taken away — by anyone.

Real success is truly satisfying.

3. Never let the fear of disapproval or criticism hold you back.

Try something different. Try something others won’t try. Almost immediately, people will talk about you — and not in a nice way.

The only way to keep people from being snide, disparaging, or judgmental is to say and do what everyone else does. Then, of course, you live their lives and not yours. And you won’t be happy.

See the fact that people are talking about you as a sign you’re on the right track — your track.

Your track is the happy track. Not theirs…

…keep reading the full & original article HERE