How to Be Happy: 7 Strategies That Really Work
Do you consider yourself a happy person?
Or are you simply doing whatever it takes to get through each day?
If you feel more inclined to say the latter, then it is high time that you start prioritizing your happiness and making each day more enjoyable.
Remember, you only get one life, so do you really want to look back and think it could have been better or do you want to grab life by the horns and start experiencing real happiness sooner rather than later?
Discover the secret to happiness right here, with tried and tested techniques that are scientifically proven to boost your mood and make you feel better every day.
1. Learn to say no
Are you a bit of a people pleaser? Always putting other people’s needs and feelings before your own? If yes, then you are long overdue for a bit of selfishness.
Although this may sound bad, it really isn’t. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being selfish once in a while, especially if you have focused on other people’s happiness for a long time at the detriment of your own.
Learning the art of saying no can be challenging for people-pleasers but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Start by saying no to small things such as staying late at work or cooking dinner for everyone and then gradually build up to bigger requests.
2. Get enough sleep
Think about how you feel after a poor night’s sleep. Irritable? Tired? Short-tempered? Hungry all day?
Now, think about how you feel when you do get the recommended number of hours of rest at night. Fresh, cheerful, and ready to take on the world?
If you have been surviving on not enough sleep or poor quality sleep for some time now, then you may have forgotten just how important it is to your overall well-being including your physical and mental health.
To improve your sleep quality, try banishing all technology from your bedroom, relaxing in a bubble bath an hour before bed, and using aromatherapy oils to soothe your mind and body.
3. Give something back
If you want to feel good about yourself happy, then why not do something good for someone less fortunate?
Numerous studies have shown that there is a direct link between charitable work and happiness, with people who regularly donate or volunteer enjoying greater life satisfaction than people who don’t.
If you have not been involved in any charitable work up until now, there are so many ways that you can give something back. For example, you could choose to make donations, organize fundraising events, or volunteer to help with a local community project.
Alternatively, if you run your own business, you could commit to end of year giving, which comes with tax benefits or you could choose to sponsor a local charitable event.
4. Focus on good nutrition
What would happen if you didn’t put fuel in your car? It wouldn’t get you very far, would it? The same goes for your body. If you want to feel good on the inside, you need to make sure you are fuelling your body in the right way.
Make sure that you are getting all the nutrients that you need each day, with foods from all food groups, including carbohydrates, proteins, and, of course, lots of fruits and vegetables.
Although many people try to avoid eating fat, especially those who are trying to lose weight, healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, and nuts are essential for both good physical and mental health.
There are also certain foods that are known for boosting your mood, including oily fish like salmon, sardines, and trout, dark chocolate, and fermented foods such as kimchi and sauerkraut.
5. Surround yourself with positive people
Although this may sound obvious, if you want to feel happy in yourself, you should try to surround yourself with positive people rather than those who are negative.
Unfortunately, it can be hard to recognize more negative influences, especially those who are adept at hiding their true colors.
To find the positive people in your life, think about family members, friends, and even work colleagues who make you feel good about yourself. Those who support you when you are feeling low and help you to celebrate when you are on a high.
If you struggle with alcohol or substance issues, then try to move yourself away from anyone who has similar problems and seek out professional help.
6. Be physically active
If you struggle with depression, anxiety, or another mental health condition, then embracing physical activities can help to boost your mood and reduce your symptoms.
If you don’t feel up to going to the gym, taking part in a fitness class, or playing team sports, then there are lots of other ways to be happy that you can stay physically active. You could take a brisk walk around the local park before and after work. Then try an online class that you can do from the comfort of your own home. Or even just run up and down the stairs 20 times a day.
Not only does exercise get your heart rate up and your blood pumping but it also releases endorphins, which are hormones that are linked to pleasure, euphoria, and well-being.
Read More: 5 Ways To Keep Your Heart Healthy
7. Practice gratitude
Rather than focus your thoughts on what you don’t have or on what you wish you could change in your life, it is much more conducive to think about what you do have.
The art of practicing gratitude has long been used as a strategy for achieving true happiness and can be highly effective at making you feel more content in your daily life.
If you are new to this happiness technique, then a good place to start is by saying daily affirmations in the mirror before you leave the house each day.
Final thoughts
If you are not feeling very happy in yourself or your life right now, then achieving true happiness may feel like an overwhelming challenge. However, one thing you need to remember is that it won’t happen overnight.
Don’t expect to wake up one day and suddenly feel amazing. It will take time and effort to start building yourself up, both physically and mentally, so just take each day at a time.
Take a look at the above techniques and pick one to get you started. Then, when you have mastered this, move on to the next one. Small steps are much less scary than big changes and will still get you where you need to be.
