It might be an underestimation to say that we are struggling to smile in this day and age. We can feel that we are constantly on the go to find something, only to be bitterly disappointed by the outcome. People that spend years trying to get to a certain level in their career or relationship status can find that the grass is not always greener on the other side. 

But what is the answer to this, is it about changing these external things, or is it about changing yourself? When we find what we are looking for, we may just end up looking for something else and feeling anxious, and this is why sometimes we need to learn to calm our souls and learn to just be. But how can we do this?

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Embrace Solitude

Unplugging from life and everything associated with a connection can help us to switch off the external voices and noises. A lot of people do things like digital detoxes to gain some sense of clarity, and if this doesn’t work for you, you may want to find hobbies that are restorative and actually benefit you because of their solitary nature. Something like fishing is not particularly high on everybody’s list, but if you are someone who is constantly travelling because you are looking for answers to the world and everything in it, fishing can give you a focus and anchor yourself so you can have that opportunity to stop thinking and just be. 

Fishing is one of those pastimes that’s not about the end goal, but about the journey itself. You can get started by getting the right equipment or having women’s fishing tops so you can have a bit of style, but really, you just need to have the basics to get yourself started. Fishing is one of those things that is like meditation, but you can try any solitary practice, just as long as you are truly unplugging from the world.

Stop With the Personal Development

If you are constantly on the go trying to better yourself, you’re not giving your mind, body, and soul the opportunity to catch up. There are information junkies out there that are constantly looking for something new because they’re trying to get to the core of who they are. Sometimes, we need to take time out from all of this information swamping us on a regular basis. 

The fact is that if you are a personal development obsessive, all this information will still be there when you get back, but taking time away means that you can ask yourself the right questions and gain more clarity on the things that actually matter. When you take time out from all of this stuff, it helps you to really focus on the things that are going to benefit you now, in five years, and much further down the line.

Stop Reading Facts Before You Sleep

Following on from those information junkies, if you really want to fall asleep properly, you might like the idea of a bit of self-help before you go to sleep because you are more relaxed in the knowledge that you’re giving yourself something that’s going to help your soul. But we need to swap these things out for something funny every now and again. If we give ourselves lots of inspiration right before going to sleep, does this mean we’re going to rest properly? 

Take time out to read things that make you laugh and are going to feed you in another way. We live in a world where there’s just so much bad news. When we check our phones constantly, we are almost looking for negativity, which is going to reinforce a negative frame of mind. Make a break with this and just find something that makes you laugh until it hurts.

Stop With the Anger

Anger is an energy, however, if we are frustrated with the state of affairs in the world, we’ve got to set time limits. Anger is one of those emotions that can easily cause us to burn out. And while many of us are angry because we are empathising with the pain of others, we end up drowning in this sea of sorrows.