Happiness-3 Easy Steps to Live a Happier Life!
Are your days happy? When someone asks how your day was, do you start with all that was great or unload all of your unhappiness? Have you ever felt like you’re just getting through each day, rather than actually enjoying where you’re at in life? It’s normal to have days like this occasionally (we ARE human, after all!), but when it starts to become your new normal, a change in mindset is needed!
Where are your joy and happiness coming from?
It’s important to take a real look at where your happiness is coming from. Do you rely on your significant other, kids, job, money, approval from others, social media, etc to provide your happiness? The first step to becoming happy is to learn to find your peace and joy within. Find time each day, even if just 5 minutes, to go within and be still in that quiet space in your soul that connects you to the energy that flows through us all. For me, this is a time of connection with God, for others, it is simply a time of connecting with the “energy” or “source” that creates everything and flows through all of us. It’s in this space that peace and creativity flow from. It’s here that you can create and keep a calm and connected center, no matter what’s happening outside of you.
Are you a habitual complainer, not even realizing or meaning to be?
Know that you can’t control what anyone else does or says, but you can control your response. If you react to every “bad” situation negatively, you’re missing the mark. This is the perfect opportunity to start changing the way your mind processes the world. You can choose to envision positive outcomes and take steps to make those happen, or you can choose to complain about your misfortune and do nothing to change, and nothing will. Attitude is everything! Think of how you feel when you’re around someone that is in a bad mood or complaining all the time about how bad they have it. Does that make you want to be around them more or less? Do you leave them feeling depleted or refreshed? How do you want people to leave you?
Eliminate the negative talk as much as possible, and see what a huge difference it makes, not only in your life but in those around you as well. Studies show that the “feel good” mood endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin increase not only in the person who is spreading the joy but also in the receiver. This just proves how your mood can affect those around you. Don’t let anyone come to you without leaving feeling happier. Spread positivity rather than negativity. Start with not complaining about anything for a whole day. Then add a genuine compliment to someone daily, start noticing the good and speaking it. These small steps can help lead to a positive mindset, rather than seeing the negative in each situation. Be the kind of person that you want to be around. Respond to negative situations with positivity.
Are you wishing life was happening differently all the time?
Process your world as it is happening, and accept it as it is. Unhappiness often comes from us expecting our lives to be one way, rather than how it actually is. We all want the Instagram-worthy, beautiful, picture-perfect life. Then, when real life happens, we feel inadequate. Why are these bad things happening to me? Why isn’t my life perfect, like everyone else on social media? The fact is, most people only post pictures of the seconds and minutes of good times and moments; not the hours and days of average, real-life moments. When we don’t expect every second to be easy, carefree; when we accept each true moment of life, is when we can start enjoying and accepting all that life gives. This is when we can appreciate the broken moments as much as the glorious ones. When you can view an obstacle as an opportunity, you’re on the right track.
Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them-Leo Tolstoy
Start incorporating these 3 steps into your daily life, and watch your transformation begin!
1.) Find your peace and joy within; start with 5 minutes per day to connect in the quiet space of your soul where creativity and peace flow.
2.) Eliminate complaining/negative talk and start to replace it with gratitude-such as a compliment to someone else or just stating something good that you notice.
3.) Accept life as it is, rather than as you think it “should” be. Stress begins when we’re thinking life should be happening differently than it is. Instead, process life as it is happening, and if something isn’t going how you’d like, take an action step to change the situation. Try not to compare your life to anyone else’s, the beauty of life can be seen in many different forms.
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