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5 Simple Ways to Be Happy
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5 Simple Ways to Be Happy
1. Each night, say one thing you are grateful for.
2. Write a Thank You note to someone this week.
3. Take 30 seconds to breathe, the easiest way to be g...
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Count your blessings
Spend 5 to 10 minutes at the end of each day writing in detail about three things that went well that day, large or small, and also describing why you think they happened.
Mental subtraction
You don’t know what you’ve got till its gone.
Consider the many ways in which important, positive events in your life—such as a job opportunity or educational achievement—could have never taken place, and then reflecting on what your life would be like without them.
Savor
We have a tendency to adapt to pleasurable things—a phenomenon called “hedonic adaptation”—and appreciate them less and less over time.
We can interrupt this process by trying the Give it Up practice, which requires temporarily giving up pleasurable activities and then coming back to them later, this time with greater anticipation and excitement.
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Happy people are responsible
- They don't hold on to grudges. Forgiving and forgetting is absolutely necessary.
- They don't make excuses. They use failure as an opportunity to change for the better.
Happy people are well rounded people
- They savor the moment. They "stop to smell the roses".
- They're busy, but not rushed. A healthy work-life balance is key.
- They don't sweat the small stuff. They focus only of what is important and within their control.
Happy people invest in their relationships
- They spend money on others. One reason is that it creates social connections.
- They celebrate other people's success through "active and constructive" responding.
- They treat everyone with respect and kindness. Kindness, like happiness, is contagious.
- They're proactive about relationships. They work on maintaining their relationships.
- They express gratitude. It improves mood and energy and decreases anxiety.
- They engage in deep, meaningful conversations.
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The human mind naturally overemphasizes the negative
Psychologists have found that the loss of something is two to four times more painful than the joy of gaining the same thing.
Gratitude is the skill of happiness
It requires practice and effort and habit. But it’s a skill anyone can learn and anyone can do.
Consciously practicing gratitude makes one happier
It makes one appreciate what one has and helps one to remain in the present moment. Practicing gratitude increases accountability which directly leads to higher self-esteem and happiness.