Some days, happiness isn’t something that is necessarily easy to come by. There are going to be times where we are feeling stressed, feeling lost on life, and there are also going to be days where nothing is wrong other than the fact that we just can’t seem to focus on anything positive. We all have these days.
That is why it’s important to prioritize your happiness on the days when we are feeling good about ourselves and about our lives. When we have the energy, the motivation, and are in a positive state of mind, it’s important that we do more of the things that make us happy so that we can counter the days in which we may be struggling.
There are mornings where I will wake up and be in the best mood imaginable. I will immediately have a smile on my face, energy to take on the day, and optimism for whatever comes next.
But then there are the days where I wake up and it feels like there is a cloud in my mind – one that is blocking out any light from shining in.
These are the days where it’s a challenge to focus on the good in life, and the days where I have to go above and beyond just to find the smallest ounce of happiness in my life.
Regardless of the day, it’s important for all of us to remember that happiness is a choice. No, we don’t always have the ability to control every outcome or the actions of others, but what we do have is an even greater ability, and that is the power of perception.
When you learn how to prioritize your happiness and control how you look and see the world around you, it’s going to become a lot more difficult for anything negative in life to knock you down.
So today I’d simply like to share 3 quick tips and habits that help me to live a happier life and 3 things you can do to find happiness today in your life as well.
3 Things You Can Do To Find Happiness Today
1. Be happy about anything and everything.
Happiness doesn’t need to come from only the big things in life. It can also come from smaller things as well. Actually, not even smaller, but from the simple things in life and the parts of our lives that we often take for granted.
The food that we are fortunate enough to have, the clean water that we can drink, the shelter over our heads, the job that we have the privilege of going to, the family and friends that we get to see, the weather and the environment around us. All of these things are things to be happy about, but ones that we often overlook or take for granted.
There is so much to be happy with in the world that we live in. Sometimes, it just takes a little extra focus and reflection for us to see how good we truly have it in life.
When I remind myself to take a step back and focus on the smaller things, I am immediately filled with gratitude and my mood is uplifted almost immediately. It doesn’t mean that I completely and entirely forget about the bigger things that I want to achieve, but it helps me to see my life through a different lens – one in which I realize how fortunate I am that I have the ability to pursue whatever life I want for myself. This is not something that the majority of the world’s population can say.
Give it a try. If you are feeling down or just want to find more happiness in your daily life, focus on more of the things that you are fortunate enough to have. I have a feeling you will be surprised by just how much it may impact your mood.
2. Do something that puts a smile on your face and on the face of others.
Going out of your way and giving back to those around you is one of the best things you can do to find happiness today. There is just this sense of knowing that you have made somebody else’s life just a little bit easier that helps wipe away some of the negativity you may be experiencing and helps you to smile.
On the days where I am especially struggling, I try to make this a focus of mine. While I might be feeling down and having a difficult time smiling, putting a smile on the face of somebody else almost always puts a smile on my face as well.
It doesn’t have to be anything too over-the-top either. Maybe it’s just holding the door open for a stranger who has their hands full, buying a coffee for the person who is standing behind you, or even just going up to somebody and giving them a random compliment. There are thousands of smaller random acts of kindness that we can do. The good news is that in doing them, they all have the ability to help us find more happiness.
It’s easy for us to get wrapped up in all of the problems that we are enduring in our daily lives. But when we help those around us, it helps us to change our perspective on our current situation.
If you are struggling, take some time to pause and take a moment to quietly reflect on something that you did already today that helped to put a smile on somebody else’s face or made them feel loved. Now, try to do more of it.
3. Be kind to yourself no matter how you are feeling.
Smile more, use affirmations, and just be your own best friend. You spend more time with yourself than any other person, why not enjoy your own presence.
Research has shown that even doing something as small as smiling helps to boost the serotonin level in our brains. Serotonin is also known as “the feel good” chemical of the brain, so the higher our serotonin levels are (without being too high, of course), the better and happier we will feel.
When I am feeling down, I will literally force myself to smile. Is it hard to do so in a negative state of mind? Absolutely! But I know that in doing so, I will always feel just a little bit better than how I was previously feeling.
Even if you don’t feel you have something to smile about, do it anyways. The facial movement from smiling is enough to trick your brain into thinking that you have something to be happy about and more serotonin will be released. That’s why those who always smile always seem to be happy.
If that doesn’t seem to be working, try using positive affirmations. Instead of telling yourself that you aren’t worthy enough, that you aren’t loved, or that you don’t have the ability to succeed, start telling yourself that you are enough, that you can accomplish your goals, and that you will achieve the life that you envision for yourself.
Affirmations aren’t a way of you lying to yourself. They are actually reinforcing the truth. You are enough. You have the power and ability to accomplish any and all of your goals. And you deserve to live the life that you envision for yourself just as long as you are willing to work for it. Sometimes, we all just need a little bit of a reminder.
Conclusion
Life isn’t perfect. There are going to be times where you are going to struggle and times where you are going to feel pain. But these 3 tips are things that we can all do to find more happiness in our lives. Use them to help you create the most out of your life and, and create the life for yourself that you deserve to live.
Michael Bonnell
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