“People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer, all life for happiness.”
The most important thing to me has always been happiness. I’ve known it from a very young age. Whenever listing priorities for different school exercises happiness was top 3, if not first. Whenever I need to cut something out, I pick the thing that brings me the least joy.
The problem is that college basically throws you into an environment where this is not encouraged. Where you constantly feel like you can be happy later and right now you need finish the long to-do list known as responsibilities. While you definitely shouldn’t shirk all of your responsibilities and there is something to be said for sacrifices now that pay off later, it’s not helpful if you’re miserable getting there. We all have that one friend with something to prove who takes on too many things and gets it all done but clearly sacrificing all the things that make life fun.
So how do you combat this?
- Don’t be afraid to say no. It is your right, it is your life, and you do not have to take on a responsibility you do not want just because you feel like you have to or you should.
- The only person you have to prove anything to is yourself. Don’t load your schedule and overwhelm yourself for the sake of a resume/parents/prof who didn’t believe in you/etc. Not only will you make yourself miserable, you’re also in most cases setting yourself up for failure.
- Set aside an amount of time each week for you to do something fun. Some people are scheduling people, if you know you won’t even take a nap unless it’s in your planner. Schedule Netflix time, schedule movies with friends time, schedule boyfriend time, schedule shopping time, schedule fun.
- Don’t be afraid to take a step back. It’s okay to a realize a club you joined isn’t for you. It’s okay to say that you don’t need to take that class that’s giving you a hard time right now. It’s okay to shut yourself in your room and do whatever you want because you can.
Don’t let anyone tell you what should make you happy. You decide what makes you happy and you should chase after it, always.
For studies to learn more about happiness and some of the ways it affects our daily lives check out this article: http://www.becomingminimalist.com/happier/