'Be kind to yourself' and other advice for people who wish to be happy

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It seems that many people need to be reminded time and again of the importance of self-compassion. This is especially true for highly driven individuals who want to attain more out of their lives.

In the pursuit of happiness and success, many people tend to forget about their own needs. The accomplishment of goals takes precedence over everything else that they neglect their health and well-being for even the smallest of gains. Often, many people may sacrifice the time they can spend in the presence of their friends and loved ones for their careers – and they end up regretting doing so.

Indeed, life is in movement. It is in the pursuit of a lofty goal or a series of smaller objectives. It is in growth. However, all of this must not be done at the cost of losing oneself. Greatness and happiness can be achieved without people being too hard on themselves.

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Practicing self-compassion is only the beginning. When individuals learn to think about themselves positively – considering their needs, strengths and weaknesses, and what they want – they can begin to work on things that truly matter to them.

They can seek a job that makes them happy, and they won’t have to worry about finding motivation to do their best at work. With constant drive and motivation, individuals can maximize their productivity during work hours. This, in turn, allows them to have time for other pursuits such as their hobbies or investing in meaningful relationships with friends and family.

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Dr. Gary Zomalt is a psychotherapist and the owner of 3R Counseling & Consulting. Find more resources on happiness and success through this Facebook page.

The value of stress in daily life

For many stressed-out people, the idea of living stress-free at some time in the near future continues to hold a strong appeal. A vacation from all of one’s worries and responsibilities remains as an important motivator and recharger to many. In fact, experts on mental health and productivity assert that workers should take short vacations more often in order to feel refreshed and consequently more productive at work.

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The idea that needs to be corrected, however, is that being completely stress-free is ideal for a person.

The feeling of stress comes from the amygdala, a part of the brain which sends alarms to the body when some form of danger is present. This alarm is actually always on – it is present in times of life-threatening danger, and it is ringing in times when one just wants to avoid trouble. It also follows that people actually experience varying levels of stress at all times.

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There is a healthy level of stress, but it can also be in excess. The times when people experience a lot of stress are the times when they don’t pay attention to what the alarm is pointing to. It may be signaling to the fact that they’re neglecting their needs or that they’re not giving enough attention to something important.

Stress serves as a good motivator to get a person moving. Stress management, therefore, should not be directed at getting rid of stress but should instead be aimed at heeding the calls of the body to focus on and attend to what is important.

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Dr. Gary Zomalt is the owner of 3R Counseling & Consulting. Visit this Facebook page for more resources on maintaining good mental health.