7 Reasons Why You’re Not as Miserable as You Imagine

Do you ever feel as though you’re at wit’s end? Do you keep wishing for some kind of break? Are you hoping that your life may eventually turn around for the better? We have good news: no matter how bleak your life outlook may be, that is ultimately a matter of perspective. And the good thing about perspective: once you change it, reality often follows suit.

No, we don’t mean to say that you may suddenly become enlightened. This is not to encourage you to remain idle waiting for some kind of magical secret to unfold. You are not to rely on the whims of the universe and get caught up in delusions, not unless you fail to miss the point.

The point of this article is showing you that you’re really not as miserable as you could imagine. The reasons why you are much better off than you think are quite obvious, once you become aware of them:

1: You have free will

It doesn’t matter if you have a lousy boss or romantic troubles, or ever-increasing financial distress. You may think that you’re stuck with your reality, and you may have bought into the notion that life just insists on handing you lousy cards. But it’s ultimately an illusion you have been refusing to let go.

Truth of the matter is that no one else is to blame for your predicaments, but yourself. While this may sound difficult to swallow, it’s actually one of the most liberating thoughts you can embrace. Because if you have been the main agent of your misery so far, it’s just a matter of learning how to stop bringing negativity into your life. Believe it or not, that’s a skill you can learn like any other.

Its workings can be subtle and confusing, but your free will can either be your prison or your liberation… depending on whether you realize that you are in charge of yourself.

2: You are not powerless

Sometimes it feels like there’s nothing you can do. In face of your lack of money, you cannot get all the things you want. Because you have a low self-esteem, you feel like you don’t get enough respect. Since everyone insists on pushing you around, you may even feel like there’s nothing to do but conforming.

The problem here is that you fail to realize what power really is. It’s not about the money you have or the influence you carry, or the authority you have amassed. Real power is about self-realization; it’s about connecting with your deepest potential. Once you start doing so, you will have activated the mechanisms through which you’ll get success, abundance and peer approval.

Rather than obsessing over your limitations, you need to work on your strengths and improve on your skills. You need to tap into your dormant inner power and learn to use it, and start building a new reality.

3: You don’t have to be a victim

If only it were as easy as snapping your fingers and suddenly being confident and feeling in charge… but that’s not how it works in the real world, sorry. We all get what we ask for; the problem is that we often fail to realize the signals we’re sending out to the world.

Awareness is the key. You need to start looking into the causes behind the effects. If you feel like you’re a victim of your circumstances, you need to realize exactly how you let that happen in the first place. The answers are inside you waiting to be found, as long as you get into the habit of asking yourself the right questions.

Ask yourself “Why do I feel like such a victim? What exactly can I do to change things around? What will it take for me to feel in charge of my life?” And remember, this is more about science than magic. The results you get depend on the efforts you put in.

4: You are alive

Is there a point to remind you that you’re alive? Isn’t obvious enough from the fact you’re breathing and reading this article? Yes and no. Because for every single one of us, life is the most amazing gift; and still, we keep looking for a better thing.

Since we keep looking for something “out there”, something “better”, something “real”, we utterly and irrevocably miss the point of it all. The point is that while you live, you are in the game. And right now you may feel like you’re losing and tomorrow something could happen out of the blue that turns you into a winner; or the other way around.

There are only three things that we know for sure about life: it has begun, it will end one day, and we should make the most of it while in between.

5: You are growing

While it may feel as though people keep judging you and putting you down, truth of the matter is that you’re likely the one setting those standards. It’s all too common for us human beings to carry a heavy load, to loathe ourselves in light of our past errors.

You need to learn to forgive yourself. You must somehow free yourself from the unreasonable demands you have subscribed to. There’s no point in trying to be perfect, because it’s not humanly possible. Instead, you need to focus on doing your very best each and every day.

You need to take stock of your errors and be proud of your mistakes. Because only when you tackle your shortcomings, do you stand a real chance of surpassing yourself: each and every day.

6: You can adapt

This is arguably the greatest triumph of mankind: not our amazing technological accomplishments, not our scientific sophistication; rather, our adaptability. Through it, we have grown vast civilizations and established our species as something quite apart of the base animal kingdom (for better and worse, it’s granted).

You too, can learn how to adapt to whatever difficulties happen to afflict you in the present moment. You too, can conceive of a figurative wheel that helps your life pick up a positive pace, or a fire that helps burn away your troubles. It’s actually the natural thing to do, and it’s part of your survival mechanisms. You’re genetically programmed to adapt to your environment.

Learn to pay attention to your instincts. Look around you for ways to not only overcome your problems but to seize opportunity. Pay attention to your surroundings and you will find all that you need to make a better tomorrow.

7: Change is always around the corner

An unknown wise man once said: “the hours drag on slowly, the years fly by in the blink of an eye”. A much known wise man called Albert Einstein also professed how: “putting your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT’S relativity.”

Perspective (awareness of relativity) is the ultimate blessing, and it comes to those who learn to detach their identity from their memory. Because memory is tied to localized circumstances, but your identity is a process. Identity is a glorious inner foundation one builds during a lifetime; memory is just a lens with which we haphazardly observe self. Put away the lens and observe the big picture of your life, and you’ll see no misery: only a person living and learning.

When you learn to take a step back and look at your life in perspective, you will know that change is always around the corner. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse; you don’t have to do anything and change will come about: but once you commit to overcoming your inner angst and building a new reality, you will be pleased with the results.

Photo by Katrina