Life Tips for a Happier Life
We’ve all been there. It can irritate you, frustrate you, prevent you from moving forwards or gaining perspective and generally keep you going round in circles. Yep, it’s the dreaded hang-up.
The truth is that hang-ups don’t just appear out of thin air. They are either deeply rooted in our lives or triggered by our own experiences. You may even find yourself consciously or unconsciously reliving or picking up other people’s baggage.
So what are your hang ups? How can they prevent you from moving forward? And, more importantly, how can you finally hang them up to dry?
Here are 6 top tips for hanging up your hang ups and living a happier and more fulfilling successful life.
1. What are your hang-ups?
This is not always the easiest question to ask or answer. It may dig up a myriad of emotions, depending on your unique experiences. However, if you become clear on what your triggers are and how you respond to them, then it becomes easier to start challenging your hang-ups.
2. Whose story is it?
Contrary to popular notion, we don’t just carry our own life experiences. We also pick up on other people’s stories and hang-ups too. So why not try to stand back from the situation and genuinely ask yourself: ‘is this my own story and belief or someone else’s?’ If it’s the latter, is carrying someone else’s story really helping you? And how might you benefit from cleansing yourself of other people’s hang-ups and reclaiming your own power?
3. How is it preventing you from moving forwards?
Hang-ups can prevent you from moving forward in life. That’s why it’s so important to ask yourself what might be different in your life if you learned, healed, and let go of your hang-ups? What opportunities might open up? How would this affect your inner life?
4. Free Yourself from Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Do you ever find yourself living the same story over and over again? Just as other people may project their hang ups onto you, it’s also very important to ask if you might also project your hang-ups onto other people or situations. It may feel very easy and safe to apply the same story to every experience, work situation or relationship. Yet, as time changes, people change, situations change and even you change. So how is it serving you or not serving you to live by what may be perhaps an outdated story?
5. It Takes Time: Admittedly, its easier to say and harder to actually hang up your hang-ups. After all, your unique story is a trusted safe script, which may have been learnt and ingrained in your memory over years. Therefore, if your hang-ups go right back, it may be increasingly difficult to untangle and undo in a short amount of time. Ask yourself is this something that you can or can’t move on from? If it’s the latter, start off by working through your hang-ups slowly and perhaps seek support from a psychotherapist. If it’s the former, a coach will be able to help you positively challenge your hang ups and encourage you move forwards with a renewed mindset and energy. Remember, hang-ups may be like stains: difficult at first to get rid of, but over time and with some cleaning they will gradually start to disappear.
6. Be kind to yourself, you don’t have to have it all figured out at once! It may be a mouthful to take all of this in at once, so do yourself a favour and don’t try to. Break it all down into manageable chunks and work through the points at your own pace.
*Samantha Morris is an Internationally accredited IAPC&M Confidence and Success Coach. She globally coaches people from all walks of life to positively overcome a wide range of professional and personal challenges so that they may live a confident, successful and thriving life!
