21 Ways To Be A Happier You Happiness is a state of mind.Sadly, all of us define attempt to triumphs/accomplishments that will make us happy.We tell ourselves that we will be happy when we get our job and promotion.We persuade ourselves to think that life will be better when we get married and complete our family.Once this is achieved, we try to convince that happiness will be ours only after the children are professionally settled and so on.We thus spend our lives waiting to be happy sometime in the future.Little do we realise that there is no better time to be happy than Right Now.Remember, life will continue to be full of challenges-we cannot let our truimph over these challenges determine our happiness Here are 21 simple and straightforward practices that will put you on the road to happiness: 1.Smile Frequently:
We usually smile when we are happy.Studies prove that the converse is also true:smiling can actually make us feel better and help us to see the lighter side of things.Certainly, a smile makes us approachable. 2.Be Content:
Happiness is nothing but the ability to be content.It has little to do with what we possess materially.It has even less to do with achieving your self-determined goals in life.Contentment comes from enjoying life as we live it-hurdles and all-from day to day.See what you have, not what you lack.Secondly, limit your wants and needs.Our desires are insatiable, be it clothes, furniture, jewellery.As soon as one desire is fulfilled, another desire awakens.Limiting our desires will help us focus on things that we already have. 3.Live In The Present:
At any time during the day, pull yourself up.Try to recall what you were thinking for the past 10 minutes.It is very likely that you were either dwelling on past problems(how the other person was nasty to you or outsmarted you, etc) or worrying about future concerns in your life(we may not have our job, our children may not get admission in good schools and so on).Such thoughts leave us anxious and frustrated, and depressed.They take our minds off whatever we are doing and do not let us enjoy the present.Remember, "Now" is the only time we have and the only time that we have control over.Practise keeping your attention on the "here and now". 4.Plan Things You Can Look Forward To:
Living life the same way everyday is boring.We need to sustain interest in our lives by doing new things.So, surprise your hubby with a tasty candlelight dinner one evening.Go out with your friends for a picnic lunch.Book tickets for a movie you have been wanting to see for a long time.If you sleep late every Sunday, try going for an early morning walk with your hubby, and have tea at a corner cafe.
In short do anything that takes you away from routine and gives you something to look forward to-in the evening, the next day, over the weekend, or any time in the future. 5.Don't Try To Compete With Your Neighbours:
Most of us share a common tendency.It is that we compare ourselves with other people and their status or compare our accomplishments with those of others.When we feel short of successes, we work harder and push ourselves beyond the limit.Life thus begins and ends as a struggle to "prove ourselves".Jealousy takes a heavy toll on us.It hurts, confuses, angers, depresses, humiliates, builds up stress, and leaves us feeling inadequate and inferior. 6.We Are What We Are:
The Truth is: We are what we are.We cannot be someone else.There is no point coveting another's perfect figure, looks, lovely hair, beautiful bungalow, magnificent jewellery, etc.Learn to accept yourself.Everyone has unique strengths and challenges.Identify yours, set your goals for fulfilling your dreams, and get going. 7.It Is As It Is:
However else you may wish it, it is as it is.A mistake has been made, the plan has been delayed, something has been broken and you cannot change it.All you can do is: accept it and go on with life considering the unforseen twist of events.Optimism means turning something that seems all bad into something good.Research shows that optimism lowers stress, which in turn, decreases the risk of heart disease.Optimism can make us smile and be content and happy. 8.Unclutter Your Home:
Clutter is the other name for chaos, confusion, muddle, jumble and what not, and contributes greatly to our irritability and annoyance.So avoid cluttering your cupboards, rooms, home with extra unwanted things.It prevents us from accessing useful things when we need them, thereby generating stress and frustration.So keep your home organised and clean. 9.Don't Procrastinate:
When we keep jobs pending, especially the ones we don't like for some reason, we live under stress.Whatever else we maybe engaged in, these jobs constantly niggle at us at the back of our minds.So, get going.Resolve to complete all pending jobs today.Moreover, first complete jobs that you particularly dont like to do.The anticipation of finishing jobs that you enjoy doing later will keep you going even through the earlier, not-so-enjoyable ones. 10.Keep Things In Perspective:
We usually live our life as if it were one big emergency.Whether it is being late for a meeting, a messy room, garbage thrown by the neighbours, a barking dog, a traffic jam, irritable kids, we usually tend to overreact.We shout, we rave and may irrevocably damage our relationship with our domestic help, our colleague, our neighbour, or anyone else involved.At the end, we are in a bigger mess.So, accept life's quirks as they come, put things in perspective and become happier. 11.Get In Touch With Old Friends:
Carrying on with life, we occasionally remember cherished friends, dear colleagues, and old neighbours from our yesteryear.We keep them in thought.So, take the initiative and dig up old diaries, look up their numbers and do invite them over.Meeting dear old ones de-stresses us and makes up for all irritants and setbacks in our life. ********************************************* Next |
