3 Best Ways to Become Miserable

How to overcome the largest pitfalls in the search for happiness.

Take a moment to remember some of the most unhappy people you’ve met in your life.

I’m not talking about people who just went through a difficult trial. I’m referring to those who are perpetually miserable about everything.

Well, you are in luck. This article will teach you how to copy those individuals.

You’ll also learn to avoid being like them if that is your preference.

In my experience, these people have three common traits.

#1 Comparison

Comparison is by far one of the best ways to make yourself miserable.

Comparison has this way of turning joy and happiness into jealousy and even hate.

Comparison is the thief of all Joy — Theodore Roosevelt

When I bought my home, I worked hard to get a low-interest rate. I was able to score a low rate. Shortly after, interest rates began to spike, and my wife and I felt lucky that we closed on our home when we did. We felt happy and grateful for our success.

About a year later, I was chatting with a friend who bought their home at a similar time. I mentioned how grateful I was that we bought when we did. My friend agreed and shared his interest rate with me.

It was quite a bit lower than mine.

At that moment, I had a choice. I could be happy for my friend or be miserable for myself.

Thankfully, I chose to be happy for my friend. Learning his interest rate didn’t make mine any higher.

Comparison steals our gratitude for what we have. Gratitude is a key component of a happy life.

#2 Entitlement

Don’t you love talking with people who feel entitled to something? I certainly don’t.

Entitlement is an extremely effective way to handicap society.

However, I’ve chosen to focus on this article on the impacts on the individual.

When we are entitled, we expect something from someone or an organization. Having expectations of other people or organizations is not inherently wrong, but entitlement gives individuals permission to have zero ownership or accountability.

An entitled person’s happiness is 100% dependent on something outside of themselves.

Basing your happiness on something outside your control is a recipe for misery.

Happiness needs to come from within. Looking for happiness and joy outside of yourself means that happiness is not with you.

#3 Focus on Possession

Lastly, when our primary focus and motivation is possessing the next best thing, we become miserable.

The “possessions” I am referring to can be physical objects like sports cars, the next iPhone, or a Christmas gift, but it can also be possessing a new “status” such as a Doctor, married, or retired.

There is nothing inherently wrong with getting more stuff and titles. We can find a lot of joy in working for those items.

However, when we regularly obsess about the next big thing, we risk appreciating and enjoying what we currently have.

The fact of the matter is, as much as we may want to buy a sports car. That sports car will lose its novelty only a few weeks after we obtain it.

We get used to what we have pretty quickly.

Because of this, we can’t rely on experiencing “novelty” to feel happy.

When we do, we’ll only be happy for very short periods of time.

Instead, we should enjoy the novelty when it comes but strive for a deeper, long-lasting source of joy within ourselves.

Conclusion

In a world of social media that allows us to compare our lives constantly, let’s choose to be grateful.

In a world surrounded by entitled individuals, let’s seek to earn our success.

In a world constantly advertising the next great thing, let’s focus instead on being happy with ourselves.

As I’ve adopted these mindsets, my fulfillment, happiness, and success have increased.

Try it! Then let me know how it goes.

Thanks for reading! I hope you feel inspired to choose to be happy by avoiding the misery traps so prevalent in today’s world. Please consider clapping and commenting on this article to let me know if you enjoyed it. Please follow me for more daily thoughts! You can also sign up to get an email whenever I publish a new article by clicking on this link.