The Why and How of Happiness
Category : Life Tips
“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.” – Dale Carnegie
A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness.” – Bernard de Fontelle
Master Social Skills
- Increased confidence
- Better communication with others
- New and better career opportunities
- New friendships and relationships
- Less time wasting with negative associations
- Improved physical health
- Increased earning potential
- Better networking skills
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” —Robert Brault
Practice Gratitude
- Better emotional health
- Better mental health
- Better physical health
- People like us more
- We are less self-centered
- We are more optimistic
- We are less focused on material possessions
- We are more excited about exercising
- Improves our career opportunities
Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over.”
― Don’t Sweat the Small Stuf
Live in the Present
There is nothing like the present. In fact, the only thing we have is the present. All too often we live with one foot in our past and the other foot in the present while worrying about the future. We can not change what is past and we do ourselves wrong by using it as an excuse or a crutch. We also have no control over the future, for tomorrow is not guaranteed. Since we can not control what will happen, we also shouldn’t worry about it. Worrying and fretting about possibilities will only rob us of our peace. Benefits of living in the present:
- Helps us to focus and concentrate
- Increases our productivity
- Reduces sleep problems
- Reduces destructive ways of thinking
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Gives us a positive outlook on life
“Even when all is known, the care of a man is not yet complete, because eating alone will not keep a man well; he must also take exercise. For food and exercise, while possessing opposite qualities, yet work together to produce health.” Hippocrates
Exercise Regularly
So much has already been said on the benefits of regular exercise that it would be difficult to add anything more. I will just say this: I think exercise should be viewed in the context of an active lifestyle as integral and not added on.to an already busy life. It should be fun and satisfying and something to look forward to and not something that we dread doing and only do because it is “good for us”. Benefits of exercise:
- Make it fun; do something you enjoy
- Be realistic and give yourself time
- Give yourself rewards for “sticking to it”
- Make exercise a social event-exercise with a group
- Work exercise into your daily life (walk to work, household chores)
- Don’t listen to your excuses (too busy, too tired)
- Think of the benefits you will gain
“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” – Amy Poehler
Associate with Positive People
- For inspiration
- For support
- For laughter
- For good advice
- For adventure
- For a positive influence
For a positive outlook
“Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” — Joshua Marine
Adopt a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset recognizes that there will be challenges and also, that with the right information and desire, these challenges can be met and overcome. Humans are always learning and growing. the question is, what are we learning and how are we growing? Are we learning destructive patterns? Are we going backward or are we improving and moving forward? A growth mindset is really being intentional about becoming better each day. Benefits of a growth mindset:
- Believe that you can
- Embrace failure as your teacher
- Build existing skills and learn new ones
- Get around people with a growth mindset
- Don’t listen to the “naysayers”
- Stop listening to yourself and start talking to yourself
- Read inspiring books
“Without service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It’s important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It’s the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.” Dr. Dorothy Height
Serve Others
Since we live in a world full of people, there are certainly more than enough people to serve. We can serve in many ways. For example, we can serve our colleagues at work by offering to help them with a task they are struggling with. we can serve friends by being there when they need someone to talk to. Serving others is really about putting other’s needs ahead of our own and being there when they need us. Benefits of serving others:
- Influences others and impacts them to serve as well
- Adds purpose to our life
- Gives us an emotional and mental boost
- Decreases stress
- Connects us to a community
- Increases our lifespan
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
– Harriet Tubman
Act on your Dreams and Goals
If we don’t act on our dreams and pursue our goals, no one is going to do it for us. Life will still go on and one day, time will run out for us. We all have things we would like to do and accomplish, but too often we put these on the back burner of our overly busy lives and hope that one day we will eventually get around to doing them. The time is now. Tomorrow is not given. Benefits of acting on our dreams and goals;
- Time will pass anyway whether you do or whether you don’t
- No one is going to achieve your dreams or set your goals for you
- There is a reason we have dreams of what we want to to do or accomplish
- Our dreams and goals are what keep us alive
- A goal is a dream with a deadline and this makes it achievable
- Acting on our dreams is an act of self-love
The Takeaway
Happiness and likability are the results of being intentional about how we choose to relate to ourselves and others. We are responsible for our own happiness and for being a likable person. We can not feel sorry for ourselves or blame the world for being unhappy or not having any friends. It all comes down to the choices we make such as; honing social skills, being thankful for what we have, living in the present, being around people who are positive, learning and growing and serving those around us. We are who we choose to be.
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