Have you ever read one of those happiness-confidence-wealth-secrets of highly successful people articles thinking you were not impressed? Me too. Sometimes we get sort of interested, but instantly forget even what we strongly agree with, or even something that makes us think, “I wish I could do this.” We forget and go on with our usual routines, caught up in the daily grind.
Between the ideas of what we could do and our current lifestyles, the ways to change our habits or thought patterns vs. some whatnots we idly tolerate, there is a spark of “I wish.” Depending on what kind of mood we’re in, it may be dressed up in a variety of emotions and have different meanings, but most often it’s just a choice not taken. Of course, nobody is determined to be unhappy or not successful, to live without making any progress, but if you look at the habits of some people, these seem to be a roadmap or a guide to a completely miserable and unhappy life – a perfect example, should anybody need one? Perhaps after you read this ultimate guide to a miserable life, you’ll have more desire to steer in the opposite direction – or else, try the following at your own risk:
1. Expect different results while doing the same
You know, maybe this time you’ll get more lucky, or just because you have already put a lot of effort or time into something, it’s gotta work. Change? Of course, you want change, but you don’t want to go far and beyond for it. Better yet, don’t leave your comfort zone, regardless of how small or limited it is. Expect things to “sort themselves out somehow”, expect change to find you on its own, or also consider the next strategy:
2. Delegate your happiness to someone else
If only he/she would … (or wouldn’t) – does that sound familiar? Everybody has heard it, but not everybody makes it their mantra. Wait for someone to make you happy, or to take care of all your problems, even if it means a lifetime of waiting, or you’ve no idea who that person could be. If you do have an idea, make sure to ignore the thought whether any (or all) of the candidates are aware of what you’re expecting from them, and why. Assume it is something quite obvious, or it’s just the way it should be. Take it for granted, or declare it a must. For that same reason, avoid any gratitude for what others do for you. The next tool will certainly be very helpful:
Read also – 9 Ways to Recognize When You Need to Change Your Life
3. A fault-finding attitude
What could you possibly appreciate, unless it’s perfect or perfectly timed? Which, you can rest assured, never happens. Optimism may be a funny way of convincing yourself you enjoy lemonade made from lemons life hands to you, but if you initially wanted cherries, that’s enough for a life drama. If you actually happen to come across cherries, it’s highly unlikely to be the moment you desired them. If you want something out of season (either literally or figuratively speaking), it’s a good reason to complain that it’s too expensive or not easily available. Fault-finding is also no fun at all if you are going to enjoy it alone. So bring this to the next level – complain about everything to others and make sure you inform them how awful and unfair this life is, in all detail.
4. Tired and wired
This is a must for getting anywhere close to being miserable – otherwise, can you imagine that happening when you’re full of energy, organized and productive, while your life is full of exciting activities? There’s a great variety of ways to be constantly nervous, tired and stressed, but you don’t need to explore or use many different ones – you should be fine with sticking to just a few of the most popular. Neglect your health, get very little sleep, procrastinate, and stay disorganized.
While other articles may warn you against trying to do many things at once, this one won’t. Multitasking is very effective at stressing you out and making you worry constantly about forgetting something or not doing it properly. Perfect. See how many different things you can cram into one day, one hour, or a few minutes. These things don’t need to be really urgent, just make sure you have a lot to do, and don’t bother with planning or prioritizing your tasks, keeping track of dates, numbers, deadlines or other important information. Rely on your memory only, but try to control everything, including what your family members or relatives are doing. When you control, blame, or criticize others, they will resist, fight and argue, which contributes to a tremendous amount of stress, leads to ruined relationships, and a perfectly miserable life.
However, if your comfort zone doesn’t stretch further than the edge of the couch, you may not like this busy and “tired” method, but the “wired” one will work great for you. Get several different mobile devices and multitask online, constantly checking something, commenting, texting, playing games and so on.
Read also – 4 Reasons You Should Stop Looking for Happiness
5. Ignore any advice
There are always people around who are willing to offer help and advice to others. Why would you need it, though, if they don’t have any idea of what it feels like to be miserable, or even if they do, they have probably already moved on? Most likely, you will be viewing things from different perspectives, while those giving you advice take delight in providing suggestions or examples based on their own experience or whatever worked for them. These may certainly not work for you, so what’s the use of trying? Besides, such people may even charge some money for counseling or advice, or they may expect you to do something in return. Whatever it is, that’s probably too much for a chance of improving your life.
Who said you need improving your life, anyway? It is your own choice, or a number of choices taken and not taken. In case you favor the “miserable” version, you’ve got a basic guide for that. Perhaps you can add some more ideas so that we can make it perfect?