The Syndrome Of Postponed Happiness

Delayed happiness syndrome is a consequence of poor time management. In it, the desired plans are postponed again and again by different obligations that follow one another, inexorably, one after another.

The negative valence emotions that derive from this perverse habit can affect our performance, our personal and work relationships. They can even change our personality. Therefore, it is important to know how to arrange obligations and pleasures, so that the former do not end with the latter.

Happiness and other emotions

Happiness is one of the so-called positive emotions because, in general, its effects are positive on the body and relationships. We can say that we feel happiness when we experience a full satisfaction, little disturbing, caused by the fulfillment of a goal or a pleasant experience.

Happiness may seem to be unequivocally an always positive emotion. This, however, is not always true. A priori , its effects are positive, but be careful, because our mind can deceive us. 

Human beings experience a hint of happiness (or at least pleasure) when we imagine, remember, or long for happy moments. But this illusion of happiness does not last long and, consequently, can turn into frustration, boredom and stress.

Symptoms of delayed happiness syndrome

To know if we suffer from this syndrome we can attend to the following symptoms :

• You are constantly looking for something better, you are never satisfied with your achievements and you always see opportunities for improvement that inevitably cause you to lose interest in your achievements and not the values.

• You are obsessed with money and you save everything you can, with a view to spending it when you need it, but that moment never comes, since nothing is too urgent to spend.
• The fear of failure obsesses you so much that you prefer to remain in the situation in which you are to grow personally, family or work.

These three symptoms, in their sum or individually, are unequivocal cause that you need to make a change. Postponing happiness does nothing more than unleash negative emotions and prevents us from being really happy. Many times, the truth is that in the end, happiness, after so much postponement, ends up not arriving.

Consequences of postponing happiness

The effects of the syndrome of delayed happiness are evident: in the opposite state of happiness, we will find ourselves  listless, melancholic or irritable. In reality, what the person with this syndrome is doing is putting that happiness over and over again, constantly projecting it into the future, so that it never comes.

As a consequence, a fear is generated, not only of failure, but also of the risk itself, due to the fear of endangering a lifestyle considered reasonable or stable. The reality is that, many times, this image of life is not real, but the result of the acceptance that “we should not aspire to more.”

How to deal with the syndrome of postponed happiness?

If we are immersed in the syndrome, we may not be aware of what the problem is, but if we know what is happening to us, it is important that we act as soon as possible.

Rearrange your priorities

The solution is to give way to what is truly important, which does not always coincide with what is urgent . This means prioritizing or dedicating time to what you are passionate about. It is simply a matter of seeing that you also need a space to enjoy yourself, and not just to suffer or sacrifice yourself, no matter how much this sacrifice can make you feel good later.

As a consequence, this desire to be happy is likely to lead you to take risks, but these are necessary to move forward. If we systematically avoid risks, we will end up losing quality of life … and all thanks to those self-imposed limitations that leave us a very small space to move around.

Think about what makes you happy already

Nobody is totally unhappy; We all have something in our life that pleases us, and this is an interesting starting point. Instead of continuing to project happiness, no matter how much it may be with the aim of reordering priorities, living in the present will help in the change that we propose.

That is, if there are already habits that make you feel good, such as reading or spending a few days a year traveling, try not to displace what you already do by obligations. After all, in the face of the syndrome of delayed happiness, the level of the hypothesis is much less tangible than reality.