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Article By Dr. Steve G. Jones (Original Author)
Clinical Hypnotherapist
Happiness is what many people want to achieve. However, finding out what really makes us happy and how to feel happier is not an easy journey.
What does it really take to be happy? Happiness, is one of those things you either have or don’t have based on the combination of life circumstances and natural disposition.
Here are 8 ways to feel happy:
- Do one nice thing for yourself daily.
How about taking some time everyday to do nice things for yourself?
Either you get yourself a small treat by buying yourself a nice cup of espresso at your favorite coffee shop or taking a 30 minute to an hour nap before going out to do your adult stuff.
It would also be nice if you can schedule bigger self-care activities like massages or going on a vacation on a monthly basis.
If you start doing nice things for yourself and taking care of yourself, you’ll find the feeling of fullness and happiness and should be able to help others.
- Prioritize your health.
Start taking supplements and vitamins! You body need those. Having the right fuel to push your body and increase your strength and stamina is one way of getting the feeling of happiness.
Sugar and other bad eating habits affect our energy and mood which hinders us from being happy.
Try to have a goal of exercising at least minimum of 5 days a week. As for the type of work out that’s really up to you. The rule is do what makes you happy.
Choose an activity that you will enjoy and not get bored with it!
If your not into hard core activities, then try doing yoga or pilates as long as the blood and oxygen is properly circulating inside your body that will activate the body’s natural healing powers that can give you the feeling of happiness.
- Forgive yourself!
Forgiveness plays a big part in being happy! There are times that we don’t really think of forgiving ourselves. But little did we know we often criticize ourselves and it brings down our confidence level.
Forgiving yourself is quite challenging, as most of us have been getting angry at ourselves for some things that we did wrong as we age.
We often think of the things that we could have done and could have not done to make things better.
A lot of us get into trouble because we tried to be perfect and beat themselves up if they’re not. Loving yourself for who you are means accepting yourself.
- Start your day with a SMILE!
Start your morning with a prayer and a big SMILE!
Being grateful for a great sleep and waking up in the morning is something that you should be happy about.
Did you know that when you smile, the muscles in our face send a signal to our brains and create a better mood biologically.
When we smile, our body releases a powerful chemical reaction in our brain that can make you feel happier.
A smile can change everything, that one thing that you’ll realize quire fast especially when you are traveling. It’s the most international language that everyone knows.
It’s even contagious, not just because of how it looks from the outside but also because of the intention and the feeling that is behind that smile.
Pretty sure you’ll realize that if you smile a someone you don’t even know, or some who just pass by you, it will bring them good vibes, which make you want to pass that smile to the next person and son and so forth.
- Be kind to someone.
Why does being kind to someone is one way of being happy? Showing gratitude to others can be easy and quick, most inexpensive ways to keep anxiety at bay.
It helps calm the mood and takes the focus off yourself. Being kind to someone, produces a contagious smile.
You are most likely causing them to smile and if you see that smile for yourself, you know that you made someone happy and you made yourself happy.
With all the stress that we face each day be it sitting in traffic for many hours on your way to work in the morning, a small act of kindness can turn things around and reduces the stress level a bit.
The moment you focus on doing an act of kindness to someone, it helps you get a break from your own problems hence resulting to you having that feeling of happiness.
Helping someone in your own little way is a big factor on your daily life leading you to have that feeling of happiness.
- Schedule something fun.
How about planning a day trip out of town? Or inviting friends over for a movie night or dinner at this new restaurant you saw on facebook?
Looking forward to a long road trip or traveling to your next dream destination is one thing that can hype you up and bring up your excitement.
Having something to look forward gives you a good feeling and will also give you an “Atmosphere of growth” to your life, because the future seems bright.
Anticipation is the key, by having something to look forward to, no matter what the conflicts are, as long as it will bring happiness into your life well before the event actually takes place.
Sometimes, the happiness in anticipation is greater that the happiness that you will experience in that moment.
- Get enough sleep.
As an adult, research shows we need to have at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep for the body and mind to fully rest.
We all know that without enough sleep our body and mind cannot function without enough of it.
That’s easy to say, most of you may be thinking, who has the time to sleep when you got loads of work to do to make a living?
If you think that the hours of lost sleep to finish your work related projects, then how about consider the effect it will bring to your daily happiness than getting one extra hour of sleep a night?
They don’t call it beauty rest for nothing as anyone who wakes up with a dark under-eye circles and sallow skin can attest.
Our body and mind needs a lot of resting so it can do its process of repairing and releasing the growth hormones that are needed by our body.
Many of these are fixing damaged tissues including the skin. If you don’t get enough sleep, you are risking the boosted levels of stress hormones, which can wreck your skin and age prematurely.
Even by just taking a 30 minute nap between the day can give you the feeling of happiness
- Talk to a friend or Call someone.
Social contact is a main contributor to happiness. It doesn’t really have to be a phone call, it can be an email or even sending them a message and asking them how they are doing can make a big difference and can bring out the happiness in you.
This small gesture can show your friend that you really care about him/her and want to know what’s happening with his/her life at the moment.
Asking how they’re day is doing and what he/she has been up to, can give you an exchange of conversation that you both can benefit from and get that feeling of happiness.
Taking some time to show interest in your friend without wanting anything in return will both brighten up your day.
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