When you look at a baby, you can tell whether he’s in a state of comfort by his expression. Generally, he’ll stay happy playing with his blocks or staring at the ceiling until something happens to make him uncomfortable, until someone takes away his toy or a dog barks. Then, he’ll cry out in an attempt to return to a state of comfort, and will ignore other sensory input (i.e. his parents attempts to feed him) until he decides he’s happy again, until he’s found a new toy or the pet cat catches his attention.

Our first human instincts tell us that joy is our natural state. Primal urges to cry out when we don’t feel happy tell us that something is definitely wrong when we are out of alignment with our natural comfort. This is because our natural state is wellbeing.

We are born to feel good.

So why do so many of us find ourselves stuck in a rut? Why do so many of us accept relationship issues, physical discomfort or financial instability as the norm? Were we born to be disappointed and then die? Absolutely not.

So why do so many of us think that “good enough” is an acceptable substitute for abundance in any and every area of our life?

There are two habits we form as we grow that cause us to settle for less than we deserve: quieting our instincts and asking permission to be happy.

Read the full article on Thought Catalog.