Your To-Do List Is Making You Miserable

While reading this thoughtful article from Lifehacks, I was reminded of how much pride we take in our daily to-do lists and particularly the emphasis our society puts on productivity. Busy, busy people we are, and especially, successful, hyper-productive New Yorkers who thrive on getting it done. But what if states-of-being like happiness or feeling content could actually be achieved if you made a habit of practicing the not-to-do list more regularly?  So many people reach out for therapy and counseling seeking a path to happiness. They rarely consider all the ways that their habits and patterns actually make make miserable.  The post suggests that tallying up how much we actually do in our daily lives that makes us “unhappy” is a place to start. As you read the list of misery-making habits, ask yourself “how are these behaviors actually serving me?” That’s a goal of therapy for many—to get to the root of misery by unearthing the source of suffering, which leads to a less rigid and restrictive existence. Some helpful psychotherapy techniques to address anxiety, depression and problem patterns with your therapist are: Cognitive Therapy for depression; CBT to change behaviors; DBT to understand, regulate emotions, communicate effectively and learn more adaptive coping skills; Mindfulness and (ACT) Acceptance Commitment Therapy to radically accept “what is” in your life and Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy to explore the unconscious should you care to. Please enjoy… Ten Recipes For Guaranteed Unhappiness - Lifehacks – Medium