Keep Busy to Be Happy
by Brianna
(AB, Canada)
When I was a senior in high school I went through a very traumatic breakup. Although some may think high school breakups are nothing but puppy love drama, feelings are still involved.
My boyfriend and I had been dating for almost two years, but realizing it wasn’t going anywhere, we decided to end the relationship. Going from seeing someone every day and calling and talking to them all the time to not seeing or talking to them at all was a very, very hard transition.
After sulking for a couple of weeks, I realized I needed to take action to recover from this breakup. Time alone would not be a cure for this heartbreak. I focused on three things to help me lift my spirits and make me happy again: music, staying busy, and surrounding myself with friends and family.
I found happiness in music when I would hear a song I could relate to. It was soothing and therapeutic and was something that I could do when I was alone, such as driving or falling asleep at night. Instead of thinking about the past and getting down, I would fill my mind with music instead, lifting my spirits and giving me something else to focus on. Staying busy was also a critical part in gaining my happiness back.
When I was not busy, I had a lot of extra time to doubt my decisions, think about the past, and regret the breakup, but when I was busy, I didn’t have as much time to think about these things and the more things I did, the more I gave myself to think about, besides the breakup.
I picked up a lot of extra shifts at work and signed up for projects and volunteering, anything to fill up my time. This helped me get my mind off things and gave me a sense of purpose. Last, I surrounded myself with people, mostly friends and family. After the breakup, when I was alone, I really felt alone.
Spending time with friends and family was the most therapeutic of the three steps I took to regain happiness. Laughing and talking with people re-taught me how to be myself, instead of feeling like 'half' of a couple. I was lucky in that I had a very supportive group of friends and an understanding family.
Anyone can follow these steps to lift their spirits. Whether it is from a breakup, other traumatic experience, or if you are just not satisfied with life. I firmly believe following these steps can help anyone gain happiness and be a better, livelier person.
