Motivated Mondays: 11 Things You Should Stop Doing If You Want To Be Happy.

So I'm off basking in the sun in Gulf Shores with my girls, but I still wanted to leave y'all with some Monday inspiration. 

SETTLING Seriously. I used to be one of those people that dated people who I was attracted to and anyone who asked me (not really anyone, but you get the gist). I didn't picture our future together. I didn't think ahead. I lived in the moment, which is great for some things, but not when it comes to your future. As the saying goes, "better safe than sorry." Don't settle for the first guy (or girl) that comes along and asks you go out. Date around, see what you like, and start a serious relationship with someone you feel really connected to. If this other person has some deal breakers in their personality or life choices, then don't waste your time. Stop settling.
WORRYING ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK When I think about all of the hours I wasted on worrying about the things people are saying about me, I just feel silly. When people used to ask me what superpower I would like to have, I would say reading minds, because I always wanted to know what people were thinking about me (now if you asked me that same thing, I'd say teleporting. How cool would that be?! I could travel wherever, whenever. Hop over Paris for some wine after work. Go to Italy for some pizza for dinner. What a life.). The point is - who cares? In years, maybe even months from now, you won't even remember these minuscule things. What's most important is how you view yourself, and that's really the only opinion that matters.
HAVING A NEGATIVE SELF-PERCEPTION You are who you are, so either accept it or get over it. That's all.
JUDGING OTHER PEOPLE I know we're all guilty of judging people by what clothes they're wearing, the way they speak or how they do their hair. You need to stop that. Just like you shouldn't care about what people are saying about you, you don't need to be concerned with how other people are living their lives. 
LYING Even the little white ones. It's a waste of time. Most lies lead to bigger lies, and ain't nobody got time for that. 
HAVING UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS Your boyfriend may not serenade you in front of the entire school cafeteria and your parents may not surprise you with a trip to Australia and your boss may not give you a promotion as soon as a position becomes available. Don't expect things to just happen for you, and don't expect more out of people than they're willing to give. Just give yourself a little reality check, get your head out of the clouds and hit pause on that fantasy.
LIVING IN THE PAST The people that you put in your past should stay there. There's a reason they were put there in the first place. We all have a past, and we should be learning from it, not living in it. 
DOING TOO MUCH Stop stressing yourself out by putting too much on your plate. Stressed people aren't happy people, and no one wants to be around a crabby, stressed out person. 
CONSTANTLY COMPLAINING There are way too many things to be happy about, so why waste all of your time complaining? Trust me when I say, no one wants to hear it. 
HAVING PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE THAT BRING YOU DOWN I've always thought that, unless someone is bringing something positive into your life, then there's no reason to have them there. If you have a friend that stresses you out more with her drama than she makes you smile, then you may need to reevaluate your relationship. Some people think that if you're friends with someone for a certain number of years, eventually you're just stuck with them. That's definitely not true. People grow up. We all take steps to become the person we were meant to be. We change and so do the people around us. Sometimes those changes make us realize that certain people may not need to be in our lives anymore. So unless someone is adding something to your life, then wave good-bye.
CHOOSING THINGS OVER EXPERIENCE If I didn't want to travel all the time, I'd have an updated wardrobe, a nicer car and a laptop that didn't move slower than a turtle on sleeping pills. Would those things bring me happiness? Maybe. But not as much as experiencing things. I would rather spend my money on traveling or doing things with my friends and family or food (food is an experience, right?). Stop choosing material things over experiences because experiences are the things you remember about your life, not your brand new Gucci purse that will be stained and ruined within a month's time. 
Stop doing these things, and soon enough, Pharrell's "Happy" will be permanently ingrained in your head. My goal in life is just to be happy and share that happiness with others, and I hope I was able to do that for you today.
Now, I'll be going back to reading on the beach or swimming with the fishies or sipping a Strawberita. Happy Monday!