Last update: Augusts 24, 2020
Delayed happiness syndrome is the result of bad time management. It leads to continually postpone plans and projects due to the inexorable succession of obligations and duties.
The negative emotions that result from the perverse delayed happiness syndrome can affect our performance, our personal and work relationships. They can even change our personality. For this reason, it is important to know how to manage obligations and pleasures in such a way that the former do not preclude the latter.
Happiness and other emotions
Happiness is part of what are defined as positive emotions, that is, those that generally have positive effects on the body and on relationships. We can say that we feel happiness when we experience full satisfaction, imperturbable, generated by the fulfillment of a goal or a pleasant experience.
It may seem that happiness is always a positive emotion. This, however, does not always correspond to the truth. First, its effects are positive, but be careful when our mind decides to deceive us.
Human beings experience a hint of happiness (or at least pleasure) when they imagine, remember or yearn for happy moments. But this illusion of happiness doesn't last long and, as a result, it can turn into a source of frustration, hatred and stress.
Symptoms of postponed happiness syndrome
To find out if we suffer from this syndrome we can pay attention to the following symptoms:
- We are always looking for something better, we are never satisfied with our goals and we always find opportunities to improve which, inevitably, subtract value and interest from what we have already achieved.
- We are obsessed with money and save as much as possible with the aim of spending it when we need it; that moment, however, never comes and nothing is ever good enough to spend our money.
- The fear of failure haunts us to the point that we prefer to stay in the current situation rather than grow on a personal level, family or business.
These three symptoms, taken together or individually, are the clear indicator that we need a change. Postponing happiness only triggers a whole host of negative emotions, preventing us from being truly happy. Many times, by dint of postponing happiness, we make sure that it never comes.
Delaying happiness and consequences
The effects of the delayed happiness syndrome are evident: one enters a state opposite to the one desired, one becomes apathetic, melancholy and irritable. In reality, the person suffering from this syndrome is postponing happiness by constantly projecting it towards the future, hindering its coming.
Consequently, ends up generating the fear of failure as well as of the risk itself, for fear of endangering a lifestyle considered reasonable and stable. The reality is that very often, this image of life is not real, but reflects the idea that "I can't aspire to anything else".
How to deal with the postponed reality syndrome?
We may not be aware of our problem, but if we know what is happening to us, it is advisable to act as soon as possible.
Put your priorities in order
The solution lies in the putting the really important things first, which do not always coincide with the most urgent. This means prioritizing or allocating time to what we are passionate about. It is simply a matter of understanding that we need the space to enjoy life, not just to suffer or sacrifice ourselves, however much that sacrifice may make us feel good.
As a consequence, it is possible that the desire to be happy leads us to take risks, but this is necessary to move forward. By systematically avoiding risks, we end up worsening the quality of our life… and all thanks to self-imposed limits that leave us little room to move.
Think about what already makes you happy
Nobody is completely unhappy; we all have something in life that gives us satisfaction, and this must become our starting point. Rather than continuing to project happiness, even as we do it to rearrange our priorities, dwelling on the present will help us bring about the change.
If we already have habits that make us feel good, such as reading or traveling, prevent those pleasures from being replaced by obligations and duties. Basically, faced with the syndrome of postponed happiness, the hypothesis plane is much less tangible than reality.
