Recently on Twitter I saw the following tweet from Jonathan Fields (@jonathanfields), and couldn’t agree more.
Happiness/positivity is the FUEL FOR success, not the RESULT OF success.
So how do you get this fuel? How can you be happy?
To celebrate World Happy Day, today, I have pulled together the top ten ways that I find happiness in my life.
1. Make time for the things you enjoy
Do something today, right now if need be, that YOU enjoy. It doesn’t need to be big.
This is something that makes your soul sing a bit. That gives you energy. That makes you smile. It is something that is totally personal to you.
Stop and smell that beautiful rose in the garden down the street.
Have a bubble bath with a heap of suds.
Ask someone for a 5 minute shoulder massage.
Take your cup of tea into the sun and just sit and be for 5 minutes.
2. Help others
Ask if that mother wants help lifting their stroller up the flight of stairs.
Offer your seat on the tube to someone less able to stand.
Give your parking ticket to someone else if you are leaving the spot and you have paid for longer than you need.
Give with no expectation of receiving something in return. Give because you WANT to.
3. Move that body
Dance. Walk. Run. Cycle. Skip. Jump. Swim. Stretch.
Do something to get the heart pumping, and feel the blood flowing around your body. Do it regularly. Do it to feel good.
Your body, but more importantly your mind, will thank you for it.
4. Connect with others
Good communication is the key to a happy life. This is more than just talking, it is about actually connecting with someone else on a deeper level. It is more than a superficial “How are you today?” to a colleague as you walk into the office. It is actually talking and listening to somewhere because you are INTERESTED.
Be nosy! Ask questions that you want to know the answers to.
What are your dreams? Who are your idols? What does happiness look like for you? What does a perfect Sunday feel like?
5. Nourish your body
Give it what it needs and wants to function at its best.
Get vitamin D from the sun.
Eat tasty and healthy food. Enjoy the taste and experience as you eat. Eat things that tantalise your tastebuds as well as giving you the vitamins, minerals, fibre and energy you need.
Ensure you are touched regularly, whether that be in the form of hugs or massages – your body needs to feel the touch of another person.
6. Laugh often
Find the light in situations. There is always something to laugh at.
That funny dance your partner does when a top 40 song comes on.
The way your hair sticks up in all the wrong ways in the morning.
The silly videos that your friend always posts on Facebook.
If you look for the light things in life you will find them. Just as if you seek problems you will find those too!
7. Don’t take everything personally
That person who bumped into you may have just been having a bad day, and they probably didn’t even notice. It wasn’t about you.
That friend who hasn’t called for a while is probably really busy. It’s not because they didn’t like what you said about their hair the other day.
That snide comment that you caught in the office corridor. It wasn’t actually about you at all – you made it that way.
Remember that people actually do have better things in their lives than to focus on you all the time. You can focus on you, but don’t think that everyone else is doing so.
8. Connect with nature
Have plants or flowers in your house.
Watch the leaves change in autumn and the bulbs pop up in spring.
Get your hands dirty in your own garden (or that of a friend).
9. Be grateful
Acknowledge what you have each_and_every_day. There will be something – no matter how small – that you can be grateful for.
It could be the weather. Or those pretty shoes you wore. Or your partner. Or the fresh vegetables you had for dinner.
Take the time to write it down. By doing this you start focusing on the GOOD in your life. You will start to see how FORTUNATE you are. And this will make you feel happy indeed.
10. Live within your means
Often in life we compare ourselves to others. Those people who have nicer clothes than us. That take more holidays in exotic locations than us. That drive a nicer car, live in a nicer house, have a better job.
This often makes us want what they have. But we need to remember we aren’t them. We can’t have everything that they have.
Instead, look at the things that YOU want. That YOU enjoy. And that YOU can afford.
Debt will never lead to happiness.