The 4th P to Personal Happiness

A While ago I wrote about the “3 Ps to personal happiness”. In the article I wrote that in order to be happy you need the following 3 things:

1. Productivity – being productive helps you to feel that you’ve achieved something
2. Proactivity – being proactive helps you feel accomplishment and that you’ve helped others (or yourself)
3. Patience – patience with yourselves and others leads to less stress and a happier outlook on life.

The other day though it occurred to me that there’s another “P to personal happiness” : Permission.

I’ve been working a lot of extra hours recently and the little system I’ve gotten myself into for writing posts has become a bit muddled and rushed on occasion. Last week it got to a point on Tuesday when it was looking like I was going to have to write Wednesday’s article well after midnight, in amongst all of the other jobs I had to do and trying to get a good night’s rest so I was able to function like a normal human being the following day. So, I gave myself permission to miss a day of writing, ironing and cleaning. And as simple as that sounds it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders.

Permission could be anything that will give you a much needed boost: take the evening off, eat that extra slice of cake, don’t go for a run because it’s raining, have an extra 10 minutes in bed, whatever makes you feel happier and more relaxed.

Of course, I’m not saying that you should use the “Permission” P to skive off of all your responsibilities completely, just now and again.

Doing this can help you avoid complete burnout, or at least give you the time off to reevaluate your options or recharge your batteries.

So, next time you’re feeling frazzled give yourself permission to take whatever course of action you need to feel better.

About The Author

Katy is always trying to be more productive one day at a time! Whether it's analogue, digital, motivational or psychological who'll try any system that will help her get things done and get organised. As well as running FlippingHeck.com, she also loves making music and reviewing things.

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