34 Simple Ways to Bring More Happiness to your Daily Life

“The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer somebody else up.” – Mark Twain

Everyone in this world wants to be happy in life. To be happy does not need millions of dollars or free time. Human being himself is the creator of his happiness. With money one can buy only physical comforts which give momentary happiness. The question is; who will make you happy? And the answer is – only one person can make you happy and that is YOU.

For more happiness in daily life, a little will power and determination is required to practise the following tools:

1. Daily Meditation: There are hundreds of scientifically proven benefits of practising daily meditation. Meditation increases life satisfaction, positive emotions, reduces stress and depression. Meditation is the single most effective way to live a happier life. Research shows that regular meditation produces “feel good” hormones i.e. serotonin which raises level of happiness.

2. Deep Breathing, Exercise, Yoga: It helps you to feel relaxed, make you healthy, increase brain power and more so feel happy.

3. Create Pure, Powerful and Positive Thoughts: Thinking positively does not mean that you ignore the unpleasant things in life. It simply means that your approach towards every situation in life, both good and bad, is full of positive outlook. Life if full of choices – choose happiness.

4. Hugs and Holding Hands: Hugging and holding hands with the persons you care and love has been proven to reduce stress instantly and boost immune system. It also creates “feel good” hormones or “happy hormones”; the most popular ones are serotonin, endorphins and dopamine.

5. Surround Yourself with Positive People: Spend time with most positive people. Surround yourself with people who make you feel good. Negative company will never give you a positive and happy life.

6. Never React But Give Thoughtful Response in Every Situation: It is not what happens to you, but how you respond to what happens to you what makes you happy or unhappy. Be mindful, pause, then consider a thoughtful, compassionate response and not react instantly without thinking

7. Sleep 7-8 Hours During Night: Sleep deprivation has ill effect on your metabolism, decreases immune system; you feel tired, and more depressed and thus unhappy. According to Dr. Jodi Mindell, “Not getting enough sleep affects your emotional regulation.”

8. Eat Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: Studies suggest that people who ate six to eight servings of fresh fruits and vegetables are very much helping to reduce stress, ease anxiety and fight depression and stay healthy. They feel calmer, happier and more energetic.

9. Be Grateful: Research shows that expressing a gratitude to someone brings a major boost of happiness besides increasing immune system, mental strength and improving self-esteem.

10. Go Outside: When there is sun shine or good weather, go in the open and enjoy for at least 10-15 minutes. Study found that spending 15 minutes outside in good weather not only boosts positive mood but also creates happiness and broadens thinking.

11. Try To Be Punctual: Being late is rude to those whom you keep waiting. It tells others that you don’t value their time. Being late can make you lose clients, lose your job, and it can strain your relationships with the people who are most important to you. In Germany, the land of perpetual efficiency, punctuality is of the utmost importance. When Russian President Vladimir Putin was late to a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, she left because that is what Germans do.

12. Be Childlike: Play with your family, friends and kids who make you laugh. Be happy for no reason like a child. If you are happy for a reason, you can’t be happy for a long time, because that reason can be taken from you.

13. Don’t Postpone Your Happiness: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present” – Bil Keane. 
Don’t wait until time is perfect or things are perfect. Don’t let future moments rob you of some of the valuable and precious moments of today.

14. Start Walking With Loved One Or In Group: Those who are engaged in outdoor walking groups saw significant improvements in heart rate and blood pressure. Social walkers are also significantly less depressed and thus happy.

15. Keep Your Mind And Bedroom Clutter Free: If we want to be happy, free of worry and anxiety, free of stress and fear, then we should definitely keep our mind free of clutter. Fill your mind with positive thoughts. Your bedroom should be a peaceful retreat. It should be a room in which you feel soothed, sexy and settled – creating a bedroom that is a peaceful sanctuary will do wonders in reducing your stress levels. Not only does a clean and tidy bedroom make your mind more focused; it also makes you mentally healthier. Clutter-free bedroom, can improve your mental health and prevent depression.

16. Live with Nature: Sunlight is a natural mood booster. Passing time with nature has particularly good effect on mood. Looking at natural scenery and greenery, listening to chirping of birds, smelling of flowers activate the part of the brain associated with balance and happiness.

17. Listening Music, Watching Funny Videos and Comedy Serials, Favourite Sports: Listening to music, seeing funny videos, comedy serials, or favourite sports cause your brain to release dopamine which is known as a “feel good” or “happy hormone”. All these provide us with the same amount of happiness that we would get from eating a piece of chocolate or our favourite dish, making love or certain medicinal plants.

18. Forgive Others: Studies by Everett Worthington and his group show that when we forgive those who have wronged us, we feel better about ourselves, experience more positive emotions and thus happy.

19. Learn to Let Go Anger and Grudges: Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. Don’t be upset and caught up with things or people you cannot change. Instead, move on, let go and concentrate on what you can change. If you let go a little you will have a little happiness; if you let go a lot you will have a lot of happiness; if you let go completely you will be free and have unlimited happiness.

20. Be Generous: If you want others to be happy, be generous. Practising generosity is a mental health principle, and it could be the very key to a happy and healthy life.

21. Celebrate Festivals: Celebration of festivals gives an opportunity to meet and spend time with family, friends and community, celebration in group relieves stress and thus brings happiness.

22. Helping Others: Help others to enrich your lives. A famous Chinese proverb says: “If you want happiness for a lifetime – help someone else”. It is proven that spending money on needy people makes us happier than buying goods for ourselves. Similarly, neuroscience research shows that when we do nice things for others, our brains light up in areas associated with pleasure and reward. Similarly, spending out time on other people has a higher degree of life satisfaction.

23. No Expectation: Shakespeare said: “I always feel happy, you know why? Because I don’t expect anything from anyone.” Expectation always hurts. Life is short, so love your life. Be happy and keep smiling. The less you expect, the more pleasant life gets. Enjoy what you have.

24. Not Being Perfect: One day everyone realizes that it is not being perfect, it’s about being happy. Perfectionists take longer time to do a task and won’t just give things a go. It frequently puts a strain on relationships because a perfectionist can make life difficult for the people around them. Perfectionism can create a great deal of stress because you will have a difficult time getting tasks accomplished. You are unable to do them with precision and perfection and thus create unhappiness. Being happy doesn’t mean everything is perfect, it means you have decided to look beyond perfections and imperfections.

25. Positive Thinking/Attitude: Make positive thinking your habit and stay happy. A positive attitude leads to happiness and success and can change your altogether life.

26. Pursue Your Passion: “The key to occupational happiness is to first figure out what you’re passionate about and then find a job that matches this passion” – Steve Jobs. Do what you love; money will follow you.

27. Enjoy the Present: True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon future. It’s appropriate to plan for the future, but it’s not a good idea to constantly have your mind on how “things will be better next time”. Living in the moment means keeping your attention on the present moment, the here-and-now, you can get much more enjoyment from the life you already have

28. Don’t Focus Too Much On Material Wealth: Research suggests that after our basic needs are met, more money doesn’t bring us more happiness. Countries don’t become happier as they become wealthier.

29. Count Your Blessings: Count your blessings; name them one by one and thank God. Stop focusing on how stressed you are rather remember how blessed you are.

30. Developing Empathy for Others: Empathy is the experience of understanding another person’s condition from their perspective. You place yourself in their shoes and feel what they are feeling. Empathy is known to increase helping behaviours. Most people think about empathy as feeling each other’s pain but if you can feel someone else’s pleasure, you are a much happier person in general because it simply brings more joy into your life.

31. Ignore What Others Say About You: If someone talks bad about us, we feel bad. If someone talks good about us we feel good. The question is: Have we given our remote control to others for the way we feels? Live your life in your way. Never put the key of your happiness in someone else’s pocket.

32. Do One Good Thing Daily: When you do something good for someone else, your brain’s pleasure centres light up, releasing high endorphin which helps you to feel better. Those who help others are happier at work than those who don’t prioritize helping others.

33. Clapping: The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed that clapping of hands is one of the best exercises. When we are happy we clap the hands to express joy and happiness. Even little babies clap their hands to express joy and approval. If a person claps by keeping hands upward for five minutes a day his blood pressure will become normal and also helps in curing depression and one feels happy after the clapping practice.

34. Cheer Yourself: Smiling contracts the facial muscles, leading to more blood flow to the brains’ frontal lobes, which in turns release dopamine, one of the pleasure chemicals in the brain. Smiling is an easy way to boost your mood. According to a study done by researchers at Cardiff University, the expressions we make can affect our emotions, so a smile all by itself can inspire happiness.

yogaesoteric

December 17, 2018