I’ll Be Happy When…

I’ll be happy when I’m 25. Then I will be out of college, married, and have a stable career. That seems crazy, right? Well, in my 17-year-old mind, it seemed like a logical conclusion. I thought that adults had it all figured out.

The age of 25 came and went. I achieved those goals, but I still had not found that elusive thing called happiness. Maybe I’m the only one who decided that I’ll be happy when I reach some goal or achievement, but I doubt it.

Temporary Happiness

In one way or another, we are all looking for happiness. The word means different things to different people. Some people believe that joy comes from having a certain amount of money or things. Other people think they will be happy when they are at their ideal weight or fitness level. Or, my favorite, we wait all week for the weekend so we can relax and enjoy our time.

The list could go on and on. I’m sure you can think of many other criteria we place on happiness.

The sad part is that these things rarely, if ever, fulfill us. It’s nice to have enough money to pay your bills, but researchers have found that beyond providing a comfortable life, more money does not necessarily bring more happiness.

The same logic applies to weight loss or fitness goals. They might provide a temporary feeling of happiness, but we usually find ourselves back in our old habitual patterns, judging ourselves and never measuring up.

Inevitably, we find ourselves doing the same things and getting the same results.

We Deserve to Feel Happiness

When you’re a psychologist/professor/coach/yoga teacher, people expect you to have all the answers, but sometimes you’re so busy and stressed that you end up sitting on the bathroom floor crying because you can’t remember your son’s field day t-shirt. That’s when you know something’s got to change.

That’s what happened to me a few years ago. I used to be very perfectionistic. I would run around all the time making sure everything was done and done right. People would always say things like, “you’re a human being, not a human doing.” Somehow, I thought that if I kept myself busy doing everything that one day I would do enough to deserve to be happy.

I couldn’t sit down and be happy if there was laundry to fold or dishes in the sink. Wives and mothers are supposed to keep the house clean, right? Going outside for a leisurely walk to look at flowers and butterflies was completely out of the question. If I was going to put on tennis shoes, then I was going jogging. Otherwise, there were things that needed to be done in the house.

I couldn’t allow myself to do something that made me happy if there was anything left that needed to be done. Unfortunately, there never came a time when everything was done.

Being Productively Unproductive

After more than a decade of practicing yoga and meditation, if finally made sense. I had to slow down. Being still was productive. What did it produce? Well, for starters, true happiness.

When I found a consistent morning routine, my entire outlook on life changed. It started out small. At first, I was just sitting in silence for five minutes each morning. That’s not much time, but it’s enough to create a habit. Once I was able to watch my thoughts in meditation, I noticed that I was becoming more aware of my thoughts when I wasn’t meditating.

I started to notice how many things I was doing at the same time. I was very productive. If you look at my computer right now, you will see a couple of tabs open, but that’s nothing compared to what I used to do. At one point, I was writing reports, checking email, listening to a webinar, and preparing a presentation within the same timeframe. I would switch back and forth between tasks because I didn’t have time to wait for the computer to save my current draft or load a new website. Yes, I was very productive, but I was also very stressed.

After I had enough awareness to notice how this extreme level of productivity was increasing my stress, I realized that I needed to make another change.

Do What You’re Doing

The next small change I made was to practice monotasking. That’s a fancy word for doing one thing at a time. I still think it’s crazy that we live in a world where we need a word such as monotasking, much less that it’s something I found myself in need of practicing.

I’m still not great at monotasking, but I try. If I am working on an email and a teacher walks into my office, I will stop what I am doing and shift my focus to whatever they need to talk about. I do the same thing with my kids. When I talk to them, I stop and focus on them. I look in their eyes and try to feel what they are saying.

I realized that I needed to actually do what I was doing. If my mind was split between several different activities, none of them got my full attention.

Finding Your Happy Place

Now my morning routine involves meditation, yoga, and journaling. If I only have time for one of the three, I always choose meditation.

Why? Because on the days I don’t meditate, my life doesn’t quite work right. Something just feels off. I’m more easily annoyed. Little things feel like giant stressors. I am less connected to my family, friends, co-workers, and students. The quality of my work suffers.

I have finally found a routine that works. With meditation, I realized that I can find my happy place everywhere I go.

Meditation might not be what helps you find happiness. For most people, meditation is a tool to increase awareness. You can begin today by becoming aware of what people, experiences, and activities make you happy.