Let’s face it, life’s more fun when you’re happy. But there are times when it seems like happiness is avoiding you.
The good news is that there are some quick things you can do that will help you be happier and enjoy your life more.
Reduce the things that are stressing you out
Stress is one of those things that decreases our happiness levels.
Some stress is unavoidable – it seems to go hand in hand with our modern lives – but there are some things you can do to reduce the impact that stress has.
Getting some regular exercise helps in lots of ways. Exercise boosts our built-in “feel good” hormones and even fairly small amounts work in that respect. Plus it gets you into a different physical place, whether that’s an outdoor walk or a gym or home exercise.
Remember to breathe
Taking nice, long, deep breaths will calm you down which, in turn, will give your happiness chance to peek through and show itself.
You can practice deep breathing anywhere you want – no-one is going to think you’re weird.
Or you can use a guided breathing exercise to really relax and get some fantastic benefits.
Enjoy yourself more
Keep negative things to an absolute minimum.
If you’re forever checking the news, start by reducing the amount you do that or even cutting it out altogether.
Take time out each day to do something you enjoy. Whether that’s watching a show, reading a book, chatting with a friend. Anything that lifts your mood and helps you enjoy yourself.
Stop putting yourself down
It’s easy to let our self-talk put ourselves down. But those nagging doubts and thoughts add up.
Do your best to catch the negative thoughts and push them out of your mind.
If you’re used to having more negative thoughts than are good for you, make it a game. Imagine putting one of those thoughts into a cannon and firing it off into the distance. You might even hear the scream as it flies through the air and the thud when it lands.
Be good to your body
The food we eat is important.
Sugary “comfort” food isn’t healthy (but you know that anyway) and too much of it produces all sorts of negative side effects including mood swings as the sugar rush fades as well as the more visible things like needing bigger and bigger clothes.
Aim for at least 80% of your diet to be good for you – more if you can manage it.
And be careful with things like caffeine and alcohol (and other drugs) as they won’t help you be happy.
Get a good night’s sleep
Sleep is essential.
It’s the time our body repairs itself and recharges itself for the next day.
If you’re not getting a good night’s sleep then things are amiss in your whole life, not just the hours you’re spending being restless.
Medication can help short term but you shouldn’t be relying on it.
Hypnosis and brainwave MP3s also work very well – pick a method that you get on with and use it regularly.
It’s simple to do – just write down a few things you’re grateful for each day – and it helps boost your positivity.
And if you’re grateful out loud to people you deal with in your day to day life, that will help even more as you’ll get into a positive feedback loop when they treat you nicer.
Be mindful
Mindfulness may sound new-age and weird but it’s actually just being more present in the here and now.
Be more conscious about the things you’re doing – pay attention to whatever it is that’s happening right now. And don’t multi-task – do one thing at a time rather than pretending that you can carry on a message session while watching a show while eating a snack.
Retrain your mind
Happiness and self confidence are things you can train your mind to do.
They’re partly habit and partly the result of a few (often very small) shifts in what you do and how you react.
Stress is one of those things that decreases our happiness levels.
