It’s easy to think that if we just changed one little thing in our lives, we would be much happier. But I’ve been there, done that, and it didn’t work out so well. How many times have you been told that happiness is about the journey, not the destination? It may seem like a cheesy idea, but the alternative – refusing to make the here and now better – isn’t much fun. Whether you’re a regular yogi or your only experience with the idea of letting it go is that infamous Frozen song, your happiness will definitely benefit from learning accept the things you can’t change and improve the rest. Here are 10 things to stop caring about ASAP.
- The hopes and dreams you had with your ex-boyfriend. Sorry, but that ship has sailed. If you’re still stuck in the past, you’re going to spend every day hating every second, wondering why you can’t go back in time. Let go of any lingering thoughts about your ex and open yourself up to finding happiness now as a single girl – and later in a new relationship.
- Your most recent failure. Everyone fails. It’s not actually possible to try something without failing at least once or twice. You don’t get every job you apply for, you don’t get a second date out of every first meeting, and our daily lives are filled with mistakes big and small. It’s all OK. If you can learn to live with failure and maybe even embrace it (nuts, I know), you’ll be happy.
- Your Instagram envy. It’s impossible not to feel super jealous when opening up your Instagram app every day. Every girl you know is having the Best Day Ever with colorful smoothie bowls, cool workout gear, healthy lunches and smiling selfies. Let go of your envy and appreciate this social media form for what it is: pretty and inspiring (and totally fake). Stop comparing yourself to what you see and you’ll enjoy scrolling through the photos instead of feeling bad about what you don’t have.
- The need to lose those last five pounds. Guess what? Every woman has wanted to lose those final five pounds forever… and no one really does. And you know what? It’s totally cool. Your body is pretty smart. If you’re eating properly (that includes the occasional guacamole face-plant) and working out on a regular basis, your body will figure out what its perfect size is. You won’t be better or cooler or prettier five pounds lighter — you’ll just be five pounds lighter. That’s it. It’s really not worth the mental anguish.
- Getting stuck in the future. We all had a vision for how our so-called adult life would work out. Most of us have had a rude awakening as we’ve realized that nothing happened the way we thought it would. But even knowing that, we can’t help but think that things will be better in the future. All those greeting cards are actually right: we should be living in the present, not in some mythical years-from-now place.
- The idea that the world owes you anything. Our generation is basically assaulted by the media on a daily basis. One thing they get right? Some of us can be pretty entitled sometimes. Just because you have a fancy degree and big dreams doesn’t mean you’re going to get that job you’re lusting after, or will own a house someday, and so on. Harsh? Yes. Still true? 100 percent.
- Your judgment of your friends. We may have awesome friends, but that doesn’t stop us from wondering why they make such awful choices sometimes. It’s time to quit our negative thinking about the people in our life and start being super supportive and compassionate. Everyone is fighting their own battle and you’ll eventually face something yourself. You don’t want them to judge you, do you
- Blaming the economy. Yeah, we’re in a recession right now, and have been for a few years now. The job market sucks, it’s super hard to get anywhere, and the cost of living is going up everywhere. So what? It’s time for us to quit our whining and focus on the things that we can control.
- Stressing out over that one relative. We all have at least one family member who we have to see because, well, they’re family, but for one reason or another, it’s never much fun. Resign yourself to the fact that yes, you have to hang out with them sometimes, and be done with it.
- Being scared of change. If you’re afraid of change, you’re basically afraid of life, and who wants to go through their days like that? Stop thinking of change as a bad thing and start reframing it as something super positive. After all, you can’t make a situation better if you don’t change it. Once you can let go of this fear, the sky is literally the limit in terms of what you can accomplish.
