3 Things You Should Stop Doing Immediately If You Want to Be Happier

Root & Rising
Nov 12, 2025
2 min read

Happiness isn’t about grand gestures or waiting for the “perfect moment.” It starts with your mindset—the way you think, process, and interact with life. Here are three things you should stop doing right now if you want to feel lighter, freer, and happier.

1. Stop Regretting the Past

The past is done. There’s nothing you can do to change it. But here’s the thing—you don’t have to forget it either. The past can be a teacher, showing you lessons to help you grow and avoid repeating mistakes. What you cannot do is let regret steal your present. Every moment spent dwelling on “what if” is a moment you’ll never get back. Learn, grow, and then let it go.

2. Stop Worrying About the Future

We all do it—play out worst-case scenarios in our heads. But psychologists have found that roughly 85% of the things we worry about never actually happen. That’s a lot of wasted energy. Instead of fearing what might be, focus on what is. Take action where you can, plan wisely, and then trust yourself to handle the rest.

3. Stop Looking for Your Happiness in Other People

It’s easy to think someone else can make you happy. A partner, a friend, a boss. But real, lasting happiness doesn’t come from outside—it comes from within. Only you can cultivate it. When you take responsibility for your own joy, you stop depending on others to fill a void that only you can fill. Happiness is 100% an inside job.

I know—this is hard. I know personally, firsthand, how challenging it can be to stop regrets, stop worries, and stop relying on others for happiness. The truth is, we can’t fix it all at once. All we can do is take it one step at a time, one choice at a time, and gently guide ourselves back to the present moment.