How To Be Happy

Happiness means different things for different people and so regardless of who you are and what you do, wouldn’t you like the recipe for how to be happy today and every day?

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. – John Lennon

What is it that makes you feel happy and joyful? A balanced life perhaps?

When we wonder how to be happy, we can tend to really underestimate how much maintaining balance contributes to living life successfully and productively.

Whenever you overdo things in any aspect of your life, your perspective and balance are diminished.

Moderation in all things. – Aristotle

Time must be spent getting to know yourself. For example, how much rest, exercise and food do you need to function at your best.

Stay connected with family and friends. Our busy lives can really wear us down at times, but let’s not be too busy to connect with at least one family member or friend each and every day. You’ll both appreciate the sentiment.

Whenever you feel that life is one constant schedule, stop and plan something spontaneous. This may not come easy to you but it really is essential for your physical and mental health.

Could self care be a priority to you?

This could mean meditating, reading, taking a bath in the evening or indeed anytime of the day if you choose, walking out in nature or exercising.

It could also mean taking stock of your recent self-talk. Have you been critical? If so, this has to stop immediately if you really are serious about loving yourself more successfully. Being gentle with yourself and having your own back is your responsibility and should be your highest priority.

How others treat you will be in direct proportion to how you treat yourself and others.

Don’t just treat others as you would like to be treated; Treat yourself how you would like to  be treated. – Daniel Chidiac

Much has been written about the value of the ‘gratitude journal’, but the simple fact is that cultivating your attitude of gratitude will work in ways you won’t be able to describe.

Writing down or simply reflecting on the things in your life that you are grateful for (an education, your kids, freedom, friends etc.) is one of the most powerful tools in life you have. Not only will it give you an immediate burst of happiness, it will continue to do so the more you take grateful reflective moments. Meditation and mindfulness can really enhance the practice of gratitude.

Find your joy before it’s too late because this often leads to discovering your purpose! Here’s how to easily get started.

Get living in the most important moment you have right now. Decide in this moment to free yourself from fears of the future and regrets of the past.

Learn to recognize your own negative affirmations.

What are these? 

Put simply… everything that we repeatedly say to ourselves out loud or in our thoughts are affirmations.

They are our conversation with the universe and the door to our subconscious mind.

The truly powerful thing about recognizing our negative affirmations and replacing them with positive ones is they can be said anytime: when you’re feeling “less than”, when you’re scared, when you’ve got some down time, when you’re commuting, when you’re exercising, and even when you’re meditating (as a mantra).

Here’s the thing: every complaint is an affirmation – it just happens to be an affirmation of something you don’t want.

The more attention and emotion you give to what you don’t want, the more it will become part of your reality. How? Well, every thought generates an emotion; together, that creates expectations.

Your choices and behaviors then align with your expectations. If you’ve ever gone into a social situation expecting it to be awkward and uncomfortable, your behaviors would be vastly different than if you expected it to be fun and pleasant.

We usually know exactly how to be happy in life. We’re just not doing enough of the right things.

Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.
Leo Tolstoy