 Hey there, Psych2Goers! Welcome back to another video! How happy are you right now? Are you someone who struggles to find motivation and joy in your daily life? But can't figure out why? What many people don't realize is that there are many small habits in your mindset and behaviors that can make you unhappy. If you learn what makes you dissatisfied, you can tailor your life to avoid these habits. So with that in mind, here are 10 things you do that make you unhappy without knowing. 1. Ignoring Yourself Are you someone who wears yourself out? Do you prioritize other people over what you truly want? Whether you dismiss your wants and needs, ignore self-care or invalidate your emotions, you may actually be hurting yourself and your happiness. Working to tune into who you are as a person and what you want will help your motivation and sense of balance. Finding some time to self-reflect upon who you are, how you're doing, and your desires might be a great first step. 2. Trying to Control Everything Around You Do you constantly try to control your surroundings? You may expect people to act a certain way or always expect them to go the way you plan it. However, trying to control everything around you will likely end up harming you in the long run. Life is so unpredictable and chaotic that it's impossible to expect things to happen a certain way. It's important to stay flexible and open-minded to new opportunities. That way, you can adapt to many different types of situations. 3. Seeking Validation From Outside Sources Do you often compare yourself to others? Do you use metrics such as grades or work performance to validate your self-worth? While it's hard not to, seeking validation from outside sources can make you unhappy. Realize that you're the only one who determines your worth, not friends, family, grades, accomplishments, or any other external factors. You don't have to worry about pleasing everyone or always being perfect and can focus on being happy and living the way you want. 4. Spending Too Much Time Regretting and Not Enough Time Learning Are you someone who always thinks about your mistakes, replaying them over and over while speculating what could have been? While it is extremely difficult to overcome your regrets, the past cannot be changed. The only thing you can do is learn from your previous mistakes and do your best to move forward. Spending too much time regretting not only weighs you down but also prohibits you from gaining life experience and knowledge. Instead, try to learn from your mistakes and use them as opportunities to change your present and your future. 5. Neglecting Personal Relationships When was the last time you talked to your friends? Do you find yourself canceling plans instead of going out? It may be hard to find time to meet up with people because life gets in the way, but it's important to stay connected. Humans are social creatures and even introverts need some social contact. Having a strong support system will likely make you more relaxed, balanced, and overall make you feel uplifted as a person. So even if it's only once a month or for a few hours, try to make time to connect to the people you love. 6. Surrounding Yourself with Negativity Are you a glass half empty or a glass half full type of person? Do you find yourself surrounded by people who bring you down? While complaining is certainly a good way to vent from time to time, constant negativity can make you more unhappy. When you complain, you're giving your problems and inconvenience as more power, allowing them to linger in your mind and further ruin your day. Similarly, by surrounding yourself with negative people, their problems may become your own. If they're constantly fussing, bringing you down, or manipulating you into helping them, it can harm your overall well-being. Instead, try to surround yourself with positive people that encourage and uplift you. 7. Not Allowing Yourself to Be Happy While it may sound obvious, most people don't recognize when they're self-sabotaging. Things like overthinking, judging yourself, and self-blame are destructive behaviors that are often overlooked. Sometimes these behaviors have deeper roots, such as unhealed trauma, recent crisis, or burnout that causes you to subconsciously avoid happiness. You might think you don't deserve joy, or that you need to do better. These types of problems are generally best addressed through therapy, or another means of professional support. So don't be afraid to reach out. It doesn't make you weak, inferior, or crazy. 8. Overthinking How often do you stay up at night replaying various worst-case scenarios and embarrassing interactions you've had? While the tendency to overthink is human, doing this too much will only make you more stressed. Try to remember that at the end of the day, no one will remember or care about that one time you made a mistake in class, or said the wrong thing. Try to look at an embarrassing situation as something to laugh about in the future. That way, you're not weighed down by overanalyzing yourself. You can then use that time to focus on what really matters. 9. Fantasizing Too Much Do you find yourself scrolling through social media wishing your life was like someone else's? Do you use phrases like, when I grow up, or in a few years? While it may sound cheesy, there really is no better time to take action than the present. If you always fantasize about the future, you may end up pretending more than taking action. Try not to use social media to set unrealistic expectations for yourself. Instead, try to put your plans into action. 10. Being a Perfectionist Do you have to make sure everything is just right? You never settle for less, and would rather give up than make something that is subpar? It's wonderful to have strong attention to detail and the ability to work hard. However, when taken too far, it can end up hindering your progress. You may end up obsessing over everything and burning yourself out. It can be easy to lose motivation and become discouraged when things don't turn out the way they should. But it's important to set that aside and learn from your mistakes. Allowing yourself to fail and learn will allow you to grow. Being able to see your progress over time will be much more rewarding than giving up early. It can be easy to fall into a cycle that neglects your personal needs. Sometimes you may do these things without even knowing. However, taking steps to improve your situation and get into a better mindset will help improve your well-being. Do you relate to any of these things? If so, which ones? What changes are you thinking of making? As always, please reach out to a qualified professional if you're struggling with your mental health to get back on track. Also, feel free to leave a comment with your experiences down below. Be sure to like this video and share it with anyone you feel will benefit from it. And make sure to subscribe to Psych2Go and turn on the notifications to keep up with our uploads. Thanks for watching and stay tuned for the next video. Take care.