In the most unsophisticated terms, happiness is truly a state of mind. Our level of happiness influences our everyday thoughts and actions. If we feel happy we see the world through a different lens than the lens of those that have a gloomy outlook on life. This week I outline seven easy things you can do to incorporate more happiness in your own life.
1) Take control of your time
Science tells us that almost all of us overestimate what we can get done in a given day. We plan our day and then interruptions, unforeseen contingencies, and time drains get in our way. Don’t be afraid to be honest about what you can accomplish. Set reasonable expectations (which take into account the time needed for your daily disruptions) and exonerate yourself of any guilt that you weren’t born super human. (To learn more about the scientific studies and different time controlling techniques try reading .)
2) Get the sleep you need
As a result of being an overworked society, many of us are not getting the sleep we need. When you do not get enough sleep you begin to build up a sleep debt. This lack of sleep is a stressor on the body resulting in fatigue, diminished alertness, and a gloomy outlook. A result of getting better sleep is a better outlook on life.
3) Find Flow in simple pleasures
“Flow” means being fully immersed in a feeling of full involvement when engaging in a particular activity.
Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talks at TED about flow
Believe it or not, the most expensive forms of leisure, such as a luxury vacation, often have shown to be less rejuvenating to the body and mind than simple pleasures such as walking with loved ones, hobbies, or growing a garden. The reasons for this are unclear, but it has been suggested that cost, planning, and/or unaligned expectations could be the culprit. There really are simple pleasures in life that contribute to our overall level of happiness.
4) Pretend you’re happy
As I previously mentioned in our blog article 7 Ways to Improve Your Energy and Mental Focus, laughter is good medicine! For some, just visualizing being in a happier frame of mind can do the trick. Even if you have to force yourself out of a bad mood by faking it, why not? Studies show when you scowl, the whole world seems to scowl back. Wear a smile and chances are you will get a few in return.
5) Be a good friend
Ultimately it is our friends and loved ones that increase our satisfaction during good times and help us through difficult times. Even time spent with a loving pet has proven to enhance our happiness. Make sure you foster and honor these relationships.
6) Remember the good from each day
Keeping a gratitude journal has helped a lot of people improve their overall level of happiness. Even if you have had a horrible day, it is pretty difficult to not find one good thing that happened: a smile from a friend, a hug from your child, overcoming a challenge. Documenting and relishing positive events has been shown to lift our spirits.
7) Live with purpose
People who believe that life has meaning and live with purpose tend to be happier than those that believe we just exist. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to believe in religion, but it does mean that you should feel that you have a meaningful place in contributing to the greater good of our society (in whichever form that might take). Living with purpose also has been shown as a potential way to reduce your Alzheimer’s risk (which I discussed in the entry Living Life Purposefully Might Ward Off Alzheimer’s).
If you are able to implement any of the suggestions we’ve outlined into your own life please let us know. We would love to hear from you.
4 Comments
Absolutely I have found these practices to be vital for my life. I learned to do most of this from my religious beliefs. Thanks for reminding me that everyone benefits from these things
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Sometimes I am not as happy as I can be. I know that I deserve to be happy. How can I stay as happy as can be?
Thanks for the e-mail, hope you will have many friends.
Dr. Csikszyentmihalyi (gotta love trying to write that name down) appears to be telling us to become involved at deeper levels of life. And my mother used to say that “I didn’t raise my children to be happy.” I don’t believe that we should conflate happiness and flow, nor for that matter confuse flow, happiness, and the Gift of Life itself. Certainly the last is to be revered not bought nor sold, not sought nor traded for gold. I pray everyday that I get a hint that life’s meanings are a feint aroma brought with some breeze only to be apparently lost in the instant, that is I think the treasure of it all.
I’ve started creating a schedule recently because I had hardship and now have to plan my week and I put in more time for sleep because I known that I had a lack of sleep. Then, I read this post and I think it’s true. Plan our day and get enough sleep can really make us happier!