The Connection Between Doing Stuff And Happiness

Written By Sheila M

Communications and Personal Development Practitioner who is passionate about helping clients change self-defeating behaviors to experience fulfilling and happy personal and professional relationships.

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Happiness Challenge

We are hard-wired for taking action and getting stuff done. It only makes sense, right? Our survival as a society depends on the actions of lots of different people. If each of us does our part, everything runs smoothly. It only makes sense then that we have an internal mechanism hard-wired into our brain that rewards us for getting things done.

I’m sure you’ve seen this in action in your own life. You feel proud, accomplished, and happy when you wrap up a big work project or finish reorganizing your closet. It’s a great feeling and drives us to get things done. The internal reward we feel is motivation to get to work and take action.

On the other hand, when we don’t have anything meaningful to do, we don’t feel like we’re contributing have value results in us becoming depressed. People who don’t have a fulfilling job or feel like their work is useless are much more likely to feel down, frustrated, sad, and depressed.

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The best way to turn that around is to find work, projects, causes that we can get involved with to make us feel productive. If we feel like we’re contributing to others, positively impacting their lives, all the better. Give it a try. The next time you feel down, force yourself to do one little productive thing. I call them small wins. Go clean the bathroom, use your skills to help a nonprofit or neighbor, learn a new skill to enhance your performance at work, or call a friend or family member you know is going through something to encourage them. Then use that accomplishment to motivate yourself to get something else done. Keep building on your momentum, and before you know it, you’ll notice your mood changing for the better.

If you want to supercharge this experience, go out and do something that positively impacts others. Go work at a soup kitchen for a couple of hours, or help out at your local animal shelter. Offer to babysit for a friend with little kids who haven’t gotten out all week. Do something that benefits someone else and you’ll feel even better than before. Helping others is a great way to get your mind off your challenges, as well. 🙂

As you plan for your future, set a goal to pursue opportunities, work, or build a business that helps fuel this feeling of contributing and giving back. Wouldn’t it be great if the hours you spent earning a living each week also contributed to your overall happiness and a feeling of fulfillment? What can you do this week or this month to work towards this goal? That’s where you want to start and in the meantime, keep volunteering, keep taking action, and do things that make you feel happy and accomplished.

Want to increase your challenge results? Get the Happiness Challenge Journal and Workbook.

30-Day Happiness Challenge Journal & Workbook

The 30-Day Happiness Challenge Journal and Workbook is a supplement to the FREE 30-Day Happiness Challenge. Click => 30 Day Happiness Challenge if you haven’t signed up yet. :-).

Use the fillable PDF Journal to respond to Challenge prompts, record your thoughts and develop a success plan. Each two-page daily challenge is filled with prompts and calls to action that provide an opportunity to develop a new mindset, incorporate change in your daily activities, follow a process to achieve your goals, and keep you on track and organized.

Ultimately, your transformation is a direct result of your investment in yourself. Change is not easy, rarely happens overnight, and will be challenged – so believing you deserve a better life is imperative to keep you motivated to achieve your goals. Whatever chapter of your life you are in, you write the next one… so make it a great one by working on yourself and pursuing your desires to live a passionate, purpose-driven, and happy life.

Beyond the FREE Happiness Challenge and supplemental Journal and Workbook, we are here to support you and grow as a community. Connect with us in the Happiness Challenge Facebook Group to connect with like-minded individuals seeking to change what isn’t working to achieve a happy, purpose-driven, and fulfilled life.