Four Things You Think Will Make You Happy But Have Negative Side Effects

You know yourself pretty well, but you really don’t. You think you know what will make you happy, but really you don’t. Sounds like a bit of a predicament, doesn’t it? Right now you’re probably rolling your eyes and thinking, “I know myself and I know what will make me happy,” but you’re wrong (more eye rolling, here). There are certain things that every person on the planet thinks will make them happy, but the truth is that in the long run, they won’t. When you spend time wishing for things that you think will make you happy, but won’t, you are wasting your time. Working toward goals that aren’t ultimately good for you is not helping you to achieve happiness; learning what you really need to add to your goal list will make these things much more satisfying.

You Want to be Rich

Of course you want to be rich, who doesn’t? What is important to remember with this desire is that being rich is not the end goal of your life; having monetary satisfaction will make you happy to an extent, but it will also bore you and make you long for things you may not be able to purchase with money. Say you win the lottery tomorrow; you’ll quit your job, travel and have some fun, but eventually you will long for the simpler days of dive bars and bad movies with friends. While it’s perfectly fine to desire plenty of money in the bank, don’t forget that you need a few other things to make you truly rich: love, happiness and purpose.

You Want to be Powerful

Again, power is amazing. However, many people find that they are not cut out for a position of power once they finally achieve it. With power come enemies, anger and animosity. With power, it becomes your job to reprimand people not doing their job, and to dash the dreams of others who are not cut out for what they truly want.

You Want to be Famous

Your face on the cover of Vogue or Forbes sounds like a dream come true, and it often is for the people who are able to work hard and achieve these goals. However, with fame come several other things that aren’t so amazing. You will lose your privacy; you will find yourself the subject of unpleasant rumors and false accusations. Your loved ones will suffer a lack of privacy and you may find that you become confused as to who your real friends are, causing you to lose your ability to trust.

You Want to be Perfect

Perfection is overrated. If you are perfect at your job to the point that no one ever has anything to offer you in terms of criticism or advice, you will learn nothing and eventually become bored. No, it’s not fun to hear that your presentation wasn’t up to par or that you need to try this or that, but ultimately, these criticisms help you to become the best you can be at something. Criticism isn’t always bad; it’s a learning tool. Without making mistakes you won’t learn anything, and life is no fun when there’s nothing new to learn.