1. Smile more
2. Surround yourself with good company
3. Find someone to love and that loves you
4. Enjoy nature and the outdoors — there is a lifetime’s worth of wonder there
5. Seek out people, places and situations that give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside and make you laugh outside.
The mind-body connection is often cited as an integral component of happiness. Keeping the body fit through exercise has measurable effects on the mind, too. People who exercise generally have lower levels of anxiety and depression. But studies have also shown that the same genetic factors that motivate people to exercise might also make them less predisposed to being depressed, eliminating a causal connection.
Boosting happiness through exercise doesn’t require a diehard devotion to fitness. Embarking on a less ambitious fitness regimen can help to keep your goals realistic while also producing tangible results. (No need to feel guilty about not reaching your exercise goals, which would only contribute to unhappiness.)
Focus on what you need — not what others think “you need.” Don’t push yourself to go bowling just because someone told you you need to. Don’t listen to what other people “think you need” but rather listen to what you KNOW you need.
Studies have shown that happiness is contagious. When someone’s friends or neighbors experience happiness or good fortune, those positive feelings are often imparted to the people around them. Happy people also cluster together in social groups.
Yes, the self-help gurus are right: Thinking positively vastly contributes to happiness.
A 2010 study found that there are five key items that contribute to positive thinking, which, in turn, results in happiness: (1) being grateful, (2) being optimistic, (3) practicing acts of kindness, (4) relishing in how lucky you are, and (5), using your strengths.
Cry When You Need To
Know that it’s okay to grieve. If a thought or memory comes up when you’re grocery shopping then let it out. If it happens in the shower, then let it out. Don’t try to hold it in or force yourself to cry cause you think you should. Just let it happen naturally.
Your body and soul knows when it needs to grieve… trust that it will come up when it needs to. And allow it to come out when you feel it come up rather than whether it is “socially appropriate.” Focus on what you need rather than whether it will “make other people uncomfortable.” Take care of yourself — be your own emotionally nurturing mother in this way.
If you enjoy sweating it out on the regular, you’re in luck. Studieshave shown that staying physically active can help improve your longevity and help reduce your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other health conditions. As you age, you lose muscle mass, but exercise helps you build muscle, so you can keep your metabolism revved up and maintain a healthy weight.
Feeling Low? In a Valley? There’s a rainbow ahead and a Beautiful View from a Mountain Top. Go with the ebb and flow of life.
“Life is an invitation to learn. We can learn something from every moment, good or bad.”
What did you learn today?
