Everyone has a social life, even if they don’t want one. You can’t remove social engagement completely from your existence. Sadly, many people are stuck socializing in ways that drain them or leave them feeling unfulfilled. This can make them think they don’t enjoy socializing when, in fact, they simply aren’t happy. Creating a happy social life can happen in three easy steps:
Step One – Identify what you don’t like
Step Two – Stop doing things you don’t like doing
Step Three – Try something new each week
Step one – Identify what’s not working in your social life: Start asking yourself what isn’t working for you right now? Is it the people you socialize with? Is it the activities you engage in? What’s missing? What’s wrong? Identify what’s not working so you can find something that will.
Sometimes the only way to identify what you want to do is by taking a close look at what you don’t want to do. You might be stuck in a rut doing the same things because it’s what you’ve always done, or you feel obligated. Don’t keep doing things you don’t want to do!
Step two – Cut out what isn’t working: One of the reasons people are unhappy with their social life is they keep doing things they don’t want to do with people they don’t want to do it with. At some point only you can control when you do things and with whom. Stop doing the activities that you don’t like and ditch the people you don’t enjoy being around.
Putting the brakes on relationships or activities can cause some emotional stress. Ultimately, doing what’s best for you so you can create a healthy social life will be worth any stress that making the changes causes.
Step three – Try something new regularly: Once you’ve cut ties with the people you don’t enjoy recreating with and stopped doing things you don’t like to do, it’s time to fill the void. Start trying a new activity each week and pay attention to how you feel. If you have a great time doing something or really enjoy someone’s company, keep at it. Go back for more when things feel fun and energizing.
You never know what activities might spark your interest. Be open minded and try a variety of things and be open to doing new things with new people. Be sure to let people know you are on the lookout for new and exciting things to do and you’d love to be included when people are doing fun things. Soon, you’ll have a lot of opportunities to try something new.
It can be hard shifting your mind and opening up to new ideas about socializing. Try these three steps to figure out what changes you want to make and start trying new things so you can create the happier social life you’re after.
