How to be Happy: 30 Ways to be Happier

How to boost my happiness?

Happy Outlook

To enable a genuinely happy life, you have to change your perspective on things. You can do so in these 10 easy steps!

1. Changing your thoughts

What you think is what you will ultimately feel. Your thought process will determine the quality of your life, which can be sad, happy, or content. So, if you have happy and optimistic thoughts, you will feel that your body will respond to them by making you feel joy.

The shift in your thinking will give you the push you need to get out of bed, get on with your day, and, inevitably, move mountains. So, if you genuinely want to feel a sense of completeness in your life, it is crucial to train your mind to think differently and more positively. Remember, your brain is controlled by your thinking patterns.

2. Look for the positive

It is easy to identify the negative in any outcome, but it takes strong willpower to look for the good. Having a happy outlook depends on focusing on the positives of any decision, even if it is something that ended up being far from your expectations.

For instance, if you take a step that turns out to be something you did not plan or want, you have to look for the positive in it by telling yourself that you learned something from the experience. This is the same with affirmations. If you are about to do something that is normally outside your comfort zone, you need to create positive affirmations by telling yourself you can do it, and this will have a significant impact on your brain's neurological functioning.

3. Understand what happiness means to you

Happiness means different things to everyone, so you need to understand what genuinely makes you happy. This should not be a materialistic thing such as money since the desire for money is driven by greed, not happiness. It should be something that genuinely sparks joy within you, and it can be as small as reading a good book or discovering a great song. It should be something that makes you feel comfortable and content from within.

4. Increase your confidence

By confidence, we mean self-esteem, which has a significant impact on how you live your life. People who are content with themselves tend to be happier. Your self-esteem determines how you talk to people, make decisions, and ultimately think. Once you establish a sense of security regarding yourself, you will realize how much more content you will be with life.

5. Practice smiling

It is a proven fact that smiling leads to happiness. This is because smiling triggers a chemical reaction in the brain, releasing hormones such as dopamine and serotonin, which increase feelings of happiness and reduce stress, respectively. This means you should smile more often, and you can start by smiling at strangers. You will realize how good this makes you feel, and it will probably make the stranger's day better as well.

6. Decide to be happy

Not long ago, we mentioned how your brain is influenced by your thought patterns. This means that if you train your mind to be happy, it will eventually become a lasting state. You can choose to be happy by appreciating and enjoying what you currently have. This doesn't mean you should stop striving for goals and ambitions, but you should still be appreciative of your current situation. Keep in mind that no particular situation is permanent, so just enjoy what you have now and you'll notice that you'll also try to find the good in any difficult situation.

7. Meditate

Make it a habit to meditate at least once a week if you don't have time to do it daily. It doesn't have to be a super complicated meditation session; you can just breathe in some fresh air and clear your mind of the stressful thoughts going on in your head. You will feel much lighter afterward.

8. Imagining yourself in the future

It is important for everyone to strive toward something. You should have some sense of direction to work towards. This does not mean you need to set big and explicit goals, such as owning a house by the age of 25. You can start small, like working harder for the next exam. You should have a rough idea of what you want your future to look like so that you can work towards it.

9. Learn something new

Even though this requires a lot of commitment and effort, we advise you to do it. Again, you can start small, such as learning a new recipe. That sense of accomplishment will give you the boost of happiness you need for the day, and it will encourage you to try new things in the future.

10. Treat yourself

We often get so busy and caught up with our own lives that we forget to reward ourselves from time to time. This can be as simple as going to a nice restaurant and having a good dinner. You will feel much happier for having done that for yourself. Treating yourself will allow you to rejuvenate for the coming days until you treat yourself again.

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11. Don’t compare yourself with others

You will often find yourself comparing your situation to others. This is not only toxic behavior, but it is also extremely unfair to you. We get sucked into comparing ourselves to others, and social media makes it easy to do so nowadays. However, whenever you find yourself doing this, take a moment and remind yourself that no one has a perfect life and everyone is on their own journey, just like yourself.

12. Do everything that makes you feel better

Everyone has something that makes them happy when they do it. This can be exercising, spending time with family and friends, eating good food, and so much more. You should start making time for things that genuinely make you happy, and eventually, they will become integrated into your lifestyle.

13. Re-evaluate your goals

Sometimes, people get stuck in a rut and lose sight of their goals and ambitions. As human beings, it is normal to forget about what initially motivated us, which is why it's important to remind yourself why you started in the first place. When you re-evaluate your goals, you will regain a sense of purpose, giving you the boost of motivation and optimism you need.

14. Spend money smarter

People usually tend to spend their money without giving it much thought. However, it is important that you understand the meaning of spending smartly. You should make it a point of spending money on experiences more than material things. Once you get that experience, you will find yourself much more satisfied with your spending.

15. Spend less time on social media

We are so deeply addicted to social media that we cannot imagine our lives without our phones. However, each time you check your phone for social media updates, you drain more and more energy. Try gradually reducing your reliance on social media, and soon enough, you won't be spending any time on it at all.

16. Get plenty of sleep

People who feel dull and drowsy all the time often suffer from a lack of sleep. It is imperative to get at least 7-8 hours of good sleep each night so you wake up feeling refreshed the next day. It is also advised to wake up two hours before you leave for work so you can properly wake yourself up. This will have a significant impact on how your whole day goes.

17. Plan your week

Every weekend, make it a habit to plan out what you need to accomplish for the week. This organized planning will ensure that you get everything done, and it will give you a strong sense of fulfillment.

18. Get into nature

Living such busy and hectic lives, we tend to lose our connection to nature. It is important to make it a habit to get fresh air frequently and take a stroll in a park on a nice day. We are constantly surrounded by the fast-paced life of the city, and our ears ring with the honking of cars, which makes it even more necessary to regain our connection to nature. It is a proven fact that just 15-20 minutes of surrounding yourself with nature every day will have profound effects on your happiness.

19. Exercise

Incorporating a workout routine can seem challenging for many of us. But, to have a healthy and happy lifestyle, it is important to start exercising. You don't have to dive into a hardcore workout routine right away. You can start by working out for 10 minutes every day in your room after waking up.

20. Improve your diet

To have a healthy lifestyle, what you put into your body matters a lot. We often don't have time to cook proper meals, which is why we resort to takeout. Ordering out occasionally is okay, but if you do it every day, it becomes a problem. You need to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet, and you'll find that it will have a significant impact on how you feel.

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21. Focus on positive relationships

It has been proven that the more kind, compassionate, and empathetic people you surround yourself with, the happier you will be. Sometimes, we find ourselves in relationships that aren't good for our well-being, and it's okay to detach yourself from such relationships.

22. Stay close to your family

Having strong ties with your family will give you a safe space to fall back on whenever you need it. That's why it's important to stay close to your family and include them in your life because they will always have your back. They have been there from the beginning, and they are among the few people who will stay with you until the end.

23. Interact with people who share your interests

In a social gathering, try talking to people about your interests, and you may be surprised to see how many similarities you share with a stranger. It is a comforting feeling to know that there are people who are like you.

24. Find happiness in the work you do

People spend years working in jobs they despise, which is no way to live life. As the saying goes, if you find a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life. Waking up for a job like that will genuinely uplift and motivate you, and this will also affect your performance at work.

25. Try to forgive

We usually hold on to certain grudges that hold us back from how we live our lives and interact with people. Find the courage and the strength in you to forgive and move on to better things in your life. You will feel so much lighter after you do so.

26. Be kind to others

The world can be a cruel place, which is why we need to offer as much kindness as we can. Small gestures of kindness will have a two-way impact; not only will they likely make someone's day, but you'll realize how much better you feel about yourself knowing that you made a small difference in someone's life by simply being kind.

27. Be proactive about your relationships

It can be difficult to sometimes take the lead in a relationship, but you should learn how to do so. If you find yourself hurt by a friend or partner, let them know and don't keep it bottled up. By always playing a passive role in relationships, you'll miss out on several opportunities to make them better. Keep in mind that a relationship is a two-way street.

28. Practice gratitude

Being grateful is probably the key to happiness. You should develop a habit of reminding yourself what you are grateful for every night before you sleep, so that you wake up with a sense of gratitude. Everything you have right now is a blessing, and you should internalize how fortunate you are.

29. Spend more time in deep discussions

It is quite rare to have a meaningful conversation these days, but you should make the extra effort to have them more frequently if you really want to strengthen your ties in a relationship. Ask questions that will genuinely reveal the kind of person they are, and you will discover things that you never could have imagined about them, which will bring you closer.

30. Let your friends talk to you

It is normal to be afraid of being let down, which is why we sometimes build huge walls around us that don't show our true selves. However, if you find people you genuinely trust, it is okay to let those walls come down for them so they can help you and understand you better.

Hopefully, you made it through the entire article and took note of some tips that you will be incorporating into your life to live happily. Remember, it's the small things that actually end up making a significant difference.