Stop chasing happiness
Stop chasing happiness
Stop chasing happiness
Tag. You’re It.
Those three words have been the start of some of the most epic chase games of my childhood. We are taught to chase things from a very early age. We start by chasing each other, but pretty soon, we start to chase everything. We chase popularity, money, achievement, status, relationships, power, retirement, and so much more.
But as a culture, there is one thing we seem to chase above all else…happiness. In 2008, happiness was an 11 billion dollar industry. Today, that number is astronomically higher. There are countless books, podcasts, blogs, and articles claiming to teach us how to be happy. But is all of this “happiness” making us any happier?
The Problem with Happiness
The problem with making happiness the goal is that happiness is an emotion. Just like sadness, fear, excitement, doubt, and shame, happiness does not exist in a vacuum, nor is it a constant state of being. Emotions are fleeting, and when we make them the goal, we are destined for failure.
If happiness is the real goal, rather than pursuing a feeling, our time is better spent engaging in habits, activities, and behaviors that have been scientifically proven to improve well-being. These are the strategies that build our resilience buffer zone by serving as resources to boost mental health, combat stress, and beat burnout.
Some of the items on this list seem so simple, it’s easy to dismiss them. Don’t.
– Sleep
– Non-sleep deep rest (deep breathing, meditation, yoga, etc.)
– Mindfulness
– Gratitude
– Helping others
– Self-compassion
– Time with friends and family
– Laughter
– Activities that bring you joy
– Self-care
– Exercise
– Healthy food
– Vacation
– Device free time
Each of these activities signal safety for your brain, which is in a constant state of threat detection. Your brain could care less if you are happy, it just wants to keep you alive. That means we have to actively let our brain know it is safe.
Rather than the fleeting feeling of happiness, the goal is to learn how to create an enduring state of well-being, regardless of the context. While it may seem counterintuitive, your time is better spent cultivating positive emotions than reducing negative ones.
This week, pay attention to the activities that improve your feeling of well-being and those that decrease it. Track your activities as well as how you feel after spending time doing them. It helps to write these down over several days or weeks so that you can look for trends.
Don’t forget, happiness happens in micro-moments. Pay attention to these delicious moments and savor them.
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Anne breaks down the daily habits and skills needed to grow and cultivate RESILIENCE.
I don’t know about you, but when the weather starts warming up and flowers start blooming, I suddenly feel the urge to clean everything. Closets, junk drawers, my email inbox, that mysterious Tupperware graveyard in the kitchen…the list goes on.
But here’s the thing most people forget: The most important space to declutter isn’t your garage—it’s your mind.
Here are 5️⃣ ways to give your brain a fresh start and reclaim some peace, time, and energy. 🧠
1. Clear Digital Clutter.
2. Do a Mental Sweep.
3. Prioritize Like a Pro.
4. Drop the Cape.
5. Breathe. For Real.
I’m sharing more in this month’s blog post! Link is in my bio 👆👆
Create a mantra this week, put it on a sticky note where you will see it, and say it often. Here is mine:
May I find joy
May I find peace
May I feel love
May I be at ease
#mindfulmonday #mindfulness #mantra #selflove #resilience
Take a break from your screen this weekend. 📲
Last week, I had the honor of speaking for the talented recruiting team at @bcg at the beautiful @rcchicago. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with BCG for 14 years, and they just keep getting better!
Midweek reminder to put your oxygen mask on first. 🗣
Today, I turn 5️⃣0️⃣. FIFTY! Like, half a century. I’m not sure how that happened because in my head I’m still 29 (but with better boundaries and worse joints).
As I cross this milestone with a few more laugh lines, a couple of scars, and a stronger appreciation for stretchy pants, here are a few things I’ve learned:
🏃♀️ Chase joy like it’s your job.
Life is loud and hectic, and it will gladly eat up every minute if you let it. Make time for things that make you laugh and bring you joy. Those are the moments that matter.
✨ Prioritize your people.
Your job is important, but it’s not your identity. The people you love are the greatest predictor of your happiness, health, and even how long you stick around. Nurture those relationships like your life depends on it—because it kinda does.
💪 Get uncomfortable.
Comfort zones feel safe but they are cozy little traps. Stay there too long and you start to shrink instead of grow. Try stuff that scares you a little. Be bad at something new. Say yes before you feel ready. Awkward is the price of admission for awesome.
🧠 Your body is not a rental.
It’s the only one you get. After a tumor, back surgery, and a triple fusion neck surgery in the not too distant future, I’ve learned the hard way: do not take your health for granted. Move and be active while you can.
🔌 Don’t waste your energy sweating the small stuff.
Because the big stuff will hit the fan—and that’s when you’ll need your mental and emotional strength. The rest will work itself out (or at least give you a funny story to tell later).
Thanks for being in my life. I appreciate you.
Here’s to another 50 years of grit, grace, and mildly inappropriate humor. 🎉
Anne Grady is a Speaker, Author, and #TruthBomb Dropper.
Anne shares practical strategies that can be applied both personally and professionally to improve relationships, navigate change, and triumph over adversity. And she’ll make you laugh while she does it. Anne is a two time TEDx speaker, and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fast Company and Inc. magazines, CNN, ESPN, and FOX Business. She is the best selling author of 52 Strategies for Life, Love & Work and Strong Enough: Choosing Courage, Resilience and Triumph.