4 Tips For Finding Happiness

It is a new year and for most of us, this is the time to make resolutions or to set goals and hope we can follow them through. Maybe you want to become a homeowner, get a new job or even go to school. And you can easily achieve all these things with a concrete plan. But have you thought of becoming happier this year so that you may live a more fulfilled life?

Maybe or maybe not. Having peace of mind can be a catalyst to achieving most of our goals in life. But how can we stay happy despite all the challenges that life may throw at us? While it may sound like a losing battle but it’s not as difficult as it sounds. Here are a few things to try out and you will find yourself much happier.

1. Smile more

Life can be tough and there are times when feeling sad seem like all we can do. But according to research, smiling, even when you are forcing it can help you reduce your levels of stress. Whether a smile is genuine or fake sends a signal to the brain that fosters the production of serotonin and dopamine. These two are also called happiness hormones and help lift your mood. Apart from making you happy, these hormones can also help lower your blood pressure. A smile can also be a good way to stay healthy. Smiling also makes us appear more attractive and friendly to people around us. So if you keep smiling, you may even make new friends and if you are single, probably even get a date.

2. Practice gratefulness

As we get older we keep setting goals and having life expectation. But it is not all the time that we get what we desire.

In these situations, we may feel discontent and even get into self-pity. These conditions can lead you to live a very unhappy life.

Being grateful on the other hand can help you see the best in every situation. It can even help you feel better when things are bad.

According to a study done on organ transplant patients, gratefulness could ultimately improve your mental health and vitality. Practicing it every day attracts good things which will make you happier.

3. Take up a physical activity

The lifestyles most of us live include a lot of sitting. We are sitting down way too much that sitting is now a cause of death as it leads to several diseases.

Apart from that, sitting down for too long has also been linked to anxiety. Sitting for too long and focusing on electronic devices such as laptops and phones can also cause poor sleep. And if you aren’t well rested, you are bound to feel get fatigued and anxious. In the long run, all these can cause displeasure and irritability.

The biggest problem, however, is that we depend on jobs that require sitting for our livelihood. So how do we circumnavigate the situation?

By taking up a physical activity. By committing to do something that helps you move around every day, you will improve blood circulation to all parts of your body. Movement revitalizes you and promotes the production of endorphins which are happy hormones that help improve your mood.

4. Clear your mind

Work, bills, loans, kids, relationships. These are just some of the things that are running through our mind at any given moment.

On a normal day, we have between 50,000 and 70,000 thoughts. When we are under pressure we tend to thin even more and we are more likely to feel sad and overwhelmed.

There are many ways you can clear your mind but the simplest one is breathing.

Deeply inhaling and exhaling and focusing on the breath will help quiet the noise in your mind. When you are calmer it is far easier to feel relaxed and to sort through your thoughts to find out what you should focus on immediately and what can wait.

When you create a priority list, you feel like you have some control over your situation and that plays a big role in improving how you feel overall.

Life can be difficult sometimes but believe it or not, it is what it is because we make it so. As you start the new year, make it your priority to be happy.

Be kind to yourself. Love yourself and believe that nothing that comes your way is in vain.

Stay happy!