1. Looking for the good
Happiness and optimism go hand in hand. While you might not change your circumstances by having a more positive outlook on life, it is going to change how you experience them. Humans have confirmation biases where they find evidence supporting their existing beliefs that are going to shape how they experience and perceive events, circumstances, and interactions.
Pessimists will always look for confirmation that things are going wrong or something bad is happening in their lives, but optimism is going to help in making people more aware of those things going well.
2. Prioritizing People
There is evidence showing that the key to happiness is strong and close relationships, and it is more than any other habit or circumstance. Not all relationships are the same, and the quality of each of them is going to matter over quantity, which is why romantic relationships have the most effect on happiness.
It is more impactful to feel accepted and understood than having hundreds of people liking your Facebook posts.
3. Using mindfulness exercise to practice being present
You might not realize how much time you are spending thinking about the past, worrying about the present, or overanalyzing the present, but these habits lead to unhappiness. You can break these habits using mindfulness exercises. You will find it easier to untether from unhappy thoughts and spend more time living life instead of in your head. See here for information on how to get in touch with people who can help you to live in the present.
Setting aside 15-20 minutes a day on mindfulness exercises is going to help in reducing anxiety and stress, improving focus, reducing rumination, and boosting your energy levels and mood.
4. Contributing your time and resources
Generously giving away your money, talent, and money is going to bring your happiness over being the beneficiary. Look for ways of making a positive difference through charity, volunteering, or helping others. This also applies to your career too, where people usually feel happier when working in a job where they feel like they are making a positive impact. Even a small act of kindness like giving someone a compliment or offering help is going to generate positive feelings, and with time can build a lasting emotional shift.
5. Finding things to be grateful for
Many people think that happiness is something that you experience when or if you achieve or get something you want. This kind of thinking is not going to help because you focus more on what you don’t have, which can make you feel dissatisfied. You can reverse the mental habit through gratitude. Gratitude is finding things that you are grateful for right now. Identify and write down three things you are grateful for every day instead of stressing about what you want to have in the future.
6. Being kind to yourself
Research has found that self-compassion is going to have many positive impacts on your psychological health, correlating with higher levels of happiness, initiative, and optimism. Interrupt any toxic self-criticisms and find and practice the use of a compassionate inner vice when you have made a mistake or feel insecure.
Self-kindness is also going to include being more attentive and attuned to your self-care – especially if you find yourself neglecting, ignoring, and overriding your wants and needs. make self-care a consistent priority, and not something you do when you experience stress or unhappiness.
7. Having flexible expectations
If you pay close attention, you will be surprised to realize how many expectations you have put on yourself, your work, and your outcomes. You are comparing your reality with the expectations without even realizing it, which can result in negative evaluations that can make you unhappy. You should be more flexible with your expectations so you can focus more on reality and what is really happening. If you don’t want to abandon what you want to happen, it becomes harder to accept reality. This is going to leave you unhappy.
