Why You Need a "Happy Place" -- and Where Mine Is
Happy Place: a memory, situation or activity that makes you feel happy.
Simple enough to comprehend but harder to actually find. What constitutes as a happy place? Does it have to be a real place? How do you know if it’s your happy place? Why is it important to have one?
It wasn’t until I got to my 30’s that I started to take my mental health seriously. Not that I didn’t before, but you know when you’re in your 20’s, all that’s on your mind is money, hustling, and having a social life. I took breaks here and there, however, it was always hard for me to sit still. That changed when I turned 30 (a few years ago) and finally acknowledged that burning myself out is not the ideal way of determining when I should rest.
Obviously, all these realizations didn’t happen overnight. It took a few more burnout sessions, and a slight downward spiral into an emotional breakdown (twice), to snap me into a mindset where I was going to take more time for myself. Let me tell you, this part was the hardest. Like how do you stop everything as an entrepreneur and go on vacation? I work for myself and I do the majority of everything myself, so who was going to be working if I wasn’t? I got bills to pay! But you know what I realized after taking a few days off? Setting boundaries for yourself is needed if you want to continue to thrive.
If you don’t take care of YOU, who else will? If YOU start to fuck up because you’re not getting enough sleep, then your business will feel that too. If YOU don’t get your mind right, then all that stress building up will break you down. Yes, it’s hard to put everything on pause sometimes but it’s necessary and no, it is not selfish. You do have to plan ahead though, budget it properly and so forth. Don’t just ditch everything overnight.
Okay, so now that you’re convinced that you need downtime to yourself, let’s talk about why you need a happy place. Your boyfriend is great to run to, your parents can calm you down when you’re freaked out the most, but sometimes our support group isn’t enough. Sometimes I prefer to be alone to process things and some days, I rather not explain my worries. When I feel super stressed, I’ll close my eyes and visualize myself back in my happy place. Now, a happy place doesn’t have to be a physical location, it can be an imaginary setting you created in your head where you “visit”. This place is a mood booster for you and makes you feel much calmer.
For me, my happy place is actually the Four Seasons Punta Mita. Whenever I am there, I have a surge of energy, feel a major boost in my mood, and am completely happy while I’m there. Of course, I can’t always run to it whenever I want. Ain’t that rich yet. Instead, I’ll look back on my photos from that place, close my eyes to think back on the memories from there, and just re-live it (in my mind). I know, sounds kind of silly, but it works! If you need more convincing, read these articles that have explanations from mental health experts:
How did I find my happy place? As a traveler, I’ve visited quite a number of places. Each special, unique, and enjoyable in their own way. However, I started noticing that after a few days at these places, I was eager to return home. I would become anxious around the last night and start feeling homesick. It’s happened to me in Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, Hawaii, and so forth. The only place that I wanted to stay longer at was Punta Mita, specifically the Four Seasons Punta Mita. Yes, my happy place is a resort. There are so many reasons why I love it here, which you can read about here. However, it’s the actual feeling I get whenever I get there. The first time, in 2018, I was overcome by pure joy. I was so sad to leave and wanted to come back, but life happens and it wasn’t until January 2020 that I returned. Right as I got into the lobby and saw that ocean view, I wanted to cry. I really got emotional but held it together, hah. I stayed off my phone most of the visit, I soaked in every single moment, I felt so good and then on the last night, I began to feel really sad instead of anxious. I didn’t want to leave and even debated on ways to stay longer. That’s how I knew, this is my happy place. It just took a few trips around the world to find it, but I finally found it and I cannot wait to return. I won’t another two years this time though!
Anytime I’m having a bad day or I feel out of it, I think about my happy place. I’m literally smiling thinking about it now. Having one helps your mood, comforts you, and really is the best place to “go” when life gets rough.
I hope that you find yours and if you already have one, let me know in the comments below where it is!
