Breaking Up With Unhappiness

Consider this guy Jim. Jim is a regular guy in his 30s, single, and works a 9 to 5 job in the bank. His usual routine looks like this: He wakes up-disturbed by a series of 10-15 alarms, which he puts on snooze. Almost a little too late, he gives up on this snooze spree, annoyed and irritated he wakes up, gets ready, makes himself a shitty toast, and takes off. Every day at approx. 8:50, Jim is stuck in traffic, forever cursing them for being late. He reaches office hurriedly when his security guard greets him with a pleasant smile, Jim doesn’t bother looking up at him and replying. After reaching in late, he gets cursed at, regularly by his boss, to which he exhales and says, “What a shitty life, I have!!”

He starts his work and leaves office by 7-8 sometimes 9. Jim doesn’t particularly hate his job, he always loved numbers, but it’s the undue stress he doesn’t enjoy. Some days are really shitty where he gets scolded at the office for not focusing enough or lacking the motivation to work. By the time he gets home, he is damn exhausted and not really in the mood to do anything. If his friends call in to make plans, he makes some excuses and cancels upon them. Most days Jim stays up brooding over his unproductive melancholy days and thinking “What a waste, I am so unhappy here, stuck in the wrong place, I should really quit my job or shift from this place.” This is his final thought before going to sleep every night and he wakes up the next morning continuing the same dull monotonous routine.

You must be thinking what a pessimist Jim is, but don’t be so quick to judge, Jim is not just all that, in fact, he is a very talented photographer. He secretly harboured this dream to invest in photography and take off on wildlife expeditions, but alas with the kind of hectic schedule he has had, that seemed like a far-fetched dream. Now, he mostly spends his nights browsing social media or websites of other photographers and envying their life. His happy life seems to be over before even beginning. Sure, weekends are a respite when he goes out with friends for drinks, movies and trips sometimes. But come Monday, all this short-lived happiness is lost on him. The pictures on facebook from last night seem like nothing when the pile of work on Monday surrounds him, and he cannot leave or say no, that is not him, anyone needs help, Jim is there, he can help out. Someone has trouble staying late, Jim will cover for them, he is particularly the go-to guy at work, but That has taken a toll on his personal life. Coz he simply doesn’t have one now. And Jim blames his Job. He believes he is going to be the same forever because he is stuck in a place that makes him miserable.

What do you think? Will changing a job bring a change in Jim’s life? Probably not. Because, if he has the same outlook even after he switches constantly, it will more or less lead to the same outcome. The end result: a vicious circle of unhappiness. So, Can Jim be Happier? The better question to ask is How can Jim be Happier? Yes, but please don’t ask those well-wisher neighbour aunties in Jim’s society, probably their only solution to Jim’s ever-lasting happiness is Jim ki shaadi karwa do. NO, this is not that kinda post, Ain’t gonna happen.

So, how else can Jim be Happier? Probably it is easy to blame the circumstances, and get nothing BUT it is easier to mend your approach and gain the most of it. Happiness is a state of mind !!! Which means that we are perfectly capable of creating Happiness.

If you know someone like Jim and these questions strike a chord with you, read on to find out how Jim made it work one by one in this post:

• Work-Life Balance: I really cannot stress this enough, Jim has a very screwed up work-life balance which has worked wonders to pull him down. It is really important to get your priorities right. Work is important, so is family, so are friends and so are You. Once you get the order right, it is sorted. On a similar note, Choose wisely what you feed your mind.

Get rid of the Random junk (by junk I mean the useless activities that are focused on killing time, rather than making it productive: from surfing facebook, youtube, to randomly browsing stuff online). Cut it off. Categorise your list of choices (Even when browsing online you can focus on productive sites and invest in things that aid you). Prioritise. Voila. All of us have the time, what we choose to do with it is our call.

How it works? So if Jim maintains his work-life balance and cuts off his time on junk activity; he can save a lot of time he otherwise wastes every day. Same as him, you can make the wise call. Because, as someone rightly said: You are the books you read, the music you listen to, the movies you watch, the people you spend time with, and the conversations you engage in. What you choose to indulge in, is going to shape your personality.  Choose Wisely, Live Well  :p

• Focus on Me Time: Okay so Jim got rid of the junk activity, and he has all this free time, now how should he spend it? He enrolled himself in two workshops for wildlife photography and started following his passion regularly, because of which at the end of the day Jim came home really spent but content. So ask yourself what you want to do- a game of tennis, hitting the gym, or joining that pending dance course you were planning since forever. Stop thinking, stop procrastinating. Just get on with it.

How it works? Glad you asked, I know working your ass off doesn’t sound so fascinating and that is why, most of us have been planning to hit the gym but don’t, or want to learn something new, but resist. Scientifically, it works coz of the endorphins release (the little tiny guys that cause all the complex locha in the brain telling it Like Bravo, you did it).

Just keep in mind that when you do begin, focus on enjoying your time, rather than achieving something, (that little thing makes all the difference). Do it whenever you can find the time. But try to keep a routine, or you will give up on the effort easily. So don’t put it off. Just Do It

• Little Things Matter: Around the bigger things, channel the little ones that give you a sense of accomplishment throughout the day. Jim hated waking up early, he started with just that. From waking up at 7:30, to 7:00 and the eventually at 6:00 am. His routine turned into not snoozing the alarm, waking up at 6, working out, and yes preparing himself a hearty nice breakfast. Like venturing into an unfamiliar territory, Jim was elated with the tiny boost of confidence, that ensued from these things and it simply grew with every following task he took up. Reaching office before time, being content, despite the stress at the office, made him feel at ease throughout.

How it works? Because, we are stepping out of a comfort zone here, just like testing waters- Dipping your feet just in the teensy amount to feel the chill. And once you acclimatise to it, it feels refreshing. And the added plus here is, you learn something different, that you were not so sure of earlier. That confidence gives you a positive sense of getting things done, and all previous familiar tasks then seem easier.

No matter how tiny the task is; once you start getting it done, it adds something brighter, something cheerful to your space, and the happier you are, the happier your surroundings become. Because, It’s the little things that money can’t buy, For everything else there’s MasterCard.

• Be Nice to People Around You: Of course, of course, having that ample time in the morning could do that to Jim. He noticed it happening. Jim smiled at people at the signal, and started greeting his security guard, which in turn made him cheerful.

How it works? This is a universal fact, and we see it every day. It is beautiful to have a friendly workplace, good interactions with friends, and people you know. But its even better if you can do that with people you don’t meet every day.  Be courteous, thankful, and polite to people you meet. Don’t be like Thanos. In the long run, people remember you for the way you treat them. Be genuine to them, your actions directly reflect on how people around you treat you. Little selfless acts of kindness throughout the day bring a continuous inflow of positivity.  So, always: Be remembered for Good. But of course if you are Thanos, you don’t have to worry, people you hate are already done for 😛

 

With all these tiny but key changes to his routine, Jim feels happy and content not only on social media but on the inside, for real. Yes, of course, we can do some of these things once in a while, but not always. Take it one at a time, incorporate one of these tasks into your routine and do not quit, slowly take up the second, the key is to just keep at it. Change is all really up to you.

Because,

Good luck and Cheers to a happier YOU..!! What are your ways to be happy tell us in the comments below

FEATURED STARS:

• Donald Trump
• Funny Muscular Guy
• MasterCard
• Thanos
• Funny Colorful Piglet 
• Jim’s Neighbour Aunties
• and our Very Own Jim

Taglines from Ads by:

• Telebrands
• Nike
• Mastercard
• 100 Pipers
• Royal Stag

Leaving you with a link to a beautiful song: Happier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7Bc3pLyij0

Until the next one, Adios.