No one would turn down the offer for more happiness, right? Happiness is something we can never get enough of. We want happiness in all our lives: physical well-being, emotional connections, financial abundance, loving and supportive family and friends, and much more.
However, achieving a happy life does not have a clear-cut answer. Although this topic has been extensively explored through books, poems, scientific research, and psychological studies, the key to personal happiness remains somewhat elusive.
Life Satisfaction: The Mind-Body Connection
In recent years, Western cultures have begun to recognize the importance of the mind-body-spirit connection for mental health and happiness.
Psychology and neuroscience studies confirm that our environment and thoughts directly influence our brain chemistry, which affects our sensations and emotions. This connection is vital for understanding how our physical health impacts our mental health and vice versa.
Mental Health Through Fitness
Taking care of our physical body benefits our mind, influencing our mood. Similarly, caring for our mental and emotional health supports our physical well-being and happiness. This balance forms the foundation for achieving life satisfaction and positive emotions.
The Happiness Gap
Despite the growing understanding of happiness, many people still struggle to achieve it. According to a 2019 World Happiness Report cited by Greater Good Magazine, people feel worse than ever, with rising negative emotions indicating a widening happiness gap.
The good news is that many people now realize that we can create and maintain happiness through positive habits.
Building Positive Habits
Fortunately, new habits do not have to cause drastic changes in our daily lives. Simple micro habits can significantly impact our overall happiness. Here are ten simple yet profound daily habits to increase happiness:
1. Begin Your Morning with an Affirmation
Start your day with a positive intention by setting aside a quiet minute to say a loving and motivating affirmation out loud. This practice can help you start the day on a positive note. Examples of affirmations include:
- “I am here to receive love, support, and guidance with an open heart and mind.”
- “I look forward to exploring all the opportunities this new day offers.”
- “I am safe. I have everything I need. I have nothing to fear.”
Why it works: Affirmations set a positive tone for the day and help you approach challenges confidently. They remind you of your goals and the positive outlook you want to maintain.
2. Move Your Body to Avoid Negative Emotions
Physical exercise is essential for both mental and physical health. You are probably already familiar with the benefits of physical exercise, the increase of endorphin production in the body, and the release of other feel-good chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. You can move through stress, anxiety, or depression by staying physically active.
Getting your body moving and warmed up first thing in the morning can also improve your energy and mood daily. It doesn’t need to be an hour-long workout or a 3-mile run. J
A quick 10-15 minute warm-up routine or a few sequences of vinyasas are sufficient to get the blood flowing and gently wake up your system.
Moving your body throughout the day is also essential so that blood continues flowing throughout the body, delivering oxygen wherever needed. Avoid sitting for an extended period.
At your lunch break, get up to turn your head, stretch, and change your position frequently throughout the day. This relieves muscle fatigue, prevents brain fog and scatteredness, and promotes better focus and concentration.
Create an alert twice a day on your calendar (Mine are set at 11 am and 3 pm) for a break to stretch, walk, or a quick solo dance session.
3. Smile for More Happiness
How often do you find yourself smiling? Do you see yourself smiling or frowning when you walk past the mirror? We’re not talking about a fake smile here, but a genuine, happy smile that screams, “I’m living my best life!”
Neuroscience researchers found that the pleasure we get from smiling is equivalent to eating 2,000 chocolate bars or receiving $25,000. Seriously! The simple act of smiling is kind of like a rainbow that appears over anyone’s cloudy day.
The reason this is so has to do with the fact that our smile is directly linked to the brain, signaling us to do so when we receive stimuli of pleasure, amusement, or excitement. The reaction is autonomic, and we simply can’t help ourselves.
When we smile, even if it’s a bit forced sometimes, we signal back to the brain that we are experiencing more joy within ourselves, prompting the release of feel-good neurotransmitters such as dopamine.
This is one instance of the “fake it till you make it” hypothesis I wouldn’t object to — A smile will always do well to carry you through a happier life.
4. Stay in the Present
Wise words from Lao Tzu states: “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”
We often get into trouble when we let our minds wander off worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet or are still jousting over what happened last week, which bothered us.
If we can reel ourselves back to the present moment, we will see that there is only what’s in front of us, nothing more, nothing less. I
It’s what we make of the present moment that truly matters. Our past is gone, and our future depends on our choices in the present moment.
If you catch yourself drifting off into a space other than the now, simply bring your attention back to the present moment. Take a deep breath and feel yourself grounded and centered where you are. Repeat as necessary.
Consider starting a gratitude journal to center yourself and return to the present.
5. Meditate
The popularity of meditation has exploded worldwide because of its undeniable health benefits and contribution to each individual’s overall happiness and success. Daily minutes can reduce stress, relieve pain, increase focus and concentration, boost clarity, and enhance intuition and connection to a higher purpose.
All of these are factors contributing to deep, fulfilling, lifelong happiness. Many successful athletes, entrepreneurs, and public figures are known to meditate daily to help guide their careers and personal choices.
Make meditation an essential ritual of your day, and you will find yourself calmer and more peaceful, with a greater capacity to give and receive happiness.
Suppose you have trouble getting started with meditation. This article from Soulove may bust a few myths about meditation and help you get started, especially if you have an overactive mind.
6. Use Positive Language
Much like our thoughts, our spoken words have a significant influence on our happiness and our self-esteem. When we express ourselves through words, we generate energy associated with those words in the universe. And the universe, whether you see it or not, always responds. Some may call this The Law of Attraction.
When thoughts become words, spoken out loud, creating sound, a measurable vibration released into your space, you can often feel or see an immediate reaction.
That reaction can be a smile, a friend’s comment, an uncomfortable silence, or, more subtly, an inner joy or a knot in your stomach.
The Law of Attraction suggests that we attract what we think and say, and most often, we bring what we put out; therefore, keeping our words positive will attract more positivity and happiness into our lives.
A more practical explanation would be that positive words are critical factors, always lifting up the atmosphere and making everyone around you feel happy. And that happiness will undoubtedly be returned to you one day, if not immediately.
7. Eat on Time
One of the often overlooked habits that cause us more stress than our culture realizes is starving ourselves. This unhealthy habit has been glamourized by the beauty industry as well as pop culture in the past few decades.
We associate food with being overweight and associate skipping meals as being health conscious or hard-working. Starving ourselves, however, can cause stress in parts of our body, and affect our brain function as well.
Eating on time and not allowing yourself to starve are good habits, and can invariably affect your overall mood and concentration. (The term “hangry” was not without validity).
Having an established routine of eating at a certain time is a good way to manage your day with a fundamental activity we must all engage in.
This simple routine will serve as an anchor to your busy day and set expectations of when you can take a break and enjoy some food.
8. Connect with Nature
Sure, spending money or getting a massage can be great, but have you tried immersing yourself in the healing energy of mother earth? It is an undisputed way to refresh your senses and destress from your daily grind.
The wonderful feelings we experience from connecting with nature aren’t just because we’ve stepped away from our work environment or the majestic sights we often encounter in nature.
They are backed by scientific reasoning in that we recharge by exposing ourselves to negative ions only found in natural elements. High concentrations of negative ions can be found in mountains, oceans, waterfalls, lakes, streams, dirt/earth, etc.
We are typically surrounded by positive ions in our modern daily lives. Exposure to excess can have poor health consequences. When our environment and body are out of balance, we experience fatigue, allergies, infections, and, in severe cases, diseases.
Positive ions are mostly concentrated indoors and are associated with household electronics, fluorescent lighting, metal, plastics, carpets, air pollution, etc
Here are a few quick and simple ways to spend some time with nature every day:
- Gardening — potting repotting plants; pruning and trimming; harvesting
- Walking barefoot in a grassy park
- Walking barefoot on a sandy beach, or swimming in a lake
- Hiking in a nature trail
- Breathe deeply where there is fresh air
9. Let Go
When our days are bombarded with productivity, scheduling, and deadlines, a few things are bound to go unplanned, and misunderstandings and conflicts can happen.
It’s important to realize that many things are outside of our control, but the one thing we can control is how we respond to them.
Having a tool to release feelings of anger, disappointment, and hurt successfully is helpful when it comes to our overall happiness. It gives us the confidence to face any life challenges without feeling like they can tear us down.
Here is a quick and simple energy meditation to help you diffuse those feelings and bring you back to neutrality:
Sit in a quiet space, eyes closed. Allow yourself to feel the uncomfortable feelings of anger or hurt in full. Identify each of those feelings with a color or shape (anything that comes to mind is okay.) Put those colored shapes into a balloon and release it into the air when you are ready. Say goodbye to the balloon and watch it float farther and farther away until it pops and disappears.
10. Give Gratitude
Giving gratitude is one of the most important practices to welcome more happiness into our lives. This includes expressing gratitude to those who have helped you and acknowledging your accomplishments in personal growth.
Ending your day with gratitude is a mindful practice of how much there is to be grateful for despite the events that can sometimes bring us down.
Each night before bed, write down at least three things you are grateful for during the day. Even if it was just the smallest joy, such as a hummingbird coming to visit your porch, habits like these can lead to increased happiness.
Read the list out loud to yourself and end the session with a smile. This simple ritual will help you focus more of what you want in your life and allow for what you don’t want to dissipate into the background.
Wrap up
Consistent practice of the simple habits above will in time, become a regular routine in your daily life that helps you focus on the present moment and keeps the negative thoughts away.
Even if you don’t see a difference immediately, you will notice subtle shifts in clarity, focus, mood, self-confidence, health, and energy level after consistent practice.
True happiness isn’t about what to do to instigate a feel-good moment but to remove all obstacles between you, and all the gifts life has to offer.
