How to be the Happiest you ? Lifestyle changes to be more positive and joyous
To be happy is everyone’s dream, isn’t it ? All the efforts we put in every moment our life is for one ultimate goal. The Goal to find Happiness.
The Happiness of getting good grades, getting a job, getting promotion, having a successful marriage, having a beautiful house, a car or two, being a parent, a quite romantic evening with the spouse, a trip to that dream holiday destination, and the list never ends. And so are, our never-ending efforts to get an inch closer to experiencing real Happiness.
If you think deeply, Happiness is an illusion. It keeps us all busy, not for a day or two but for our whole life. We keep running behind it with the hope that one day we will have all. All the happiness of the world.
The Enlightened ones know this and so are the world’s most successful people in the face of this world. As per Dalai Lama “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” Abraham Lincoln said “People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Walt Disney said “Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look all things.”
If you dig deep in the world’s history, you will find astonishing similarities in the definition of Happiness by the world’s greatest leaders and philosophers ever lived. For instance Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy defines Happiness as “The Secret of Happiness is not found in seeking more but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” His statement isn’t very different from the ones described by our current era philosophers and gurus like Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, to name a few.
What’s the true meaning of being Happy ?
Each person’s perspective is different for what we call “Being Happy” or “Finding Happiness.” However the conclusion is always the same. To be able to experience it — NOW !
Why don’t we perceive happiness ?
All the little happy moments in the present, sums up to a big significant life event. These events remain fresh in our memory lane for a prolonged time. But these moments often slip very fast and become “ The Happy Memory. ” Everyone of us have our fair share of such moments we refer to as Nostalgia.
One of the most dramatic human core behaviors is to save. Save for the “ bad days.” It’s not our fault. We have been doing this from as early as the prehistoric era. It is in our genes.
We save the moments too. We save the Sundays to enjoy a perfect sunset with our family over some family-favorite snacks. Likewise, we save our favorite dress for an upcoming function, we save our favorite destination for the most favorable season, and so on. You can keep adding to the list, it really never gets over. Basically, we always save ourselves from enjoying the Perfect Happiness and moments of sheer joy just because they are not the “ Perfect Moment ” according to us. Time and again, we get trapped in this loop and wonder why we don’t find Happiness. Although the fact is, our lives are filled with numerous happy moments which we don’t bother to notice in our busy schedules.
How to be the Happiest you ?
There are plenty of ways to bring happiness in your life but nothing will really work if you don’t have the right mindset. It’s a habit that you can cultivate like any other. Happiness doesn’t come accidentally. Rather it’s a long, continuous process. Just like training your muscles gives you a good physique, training your mind to maintain calmness, focusing only on positives, following your passion, are few ways to improve your happiness factor.
Lifestyle changes to bring Happiness in your life
I am going to share a few of the ways that can really help you discover and celebrate happiness each day. They are simple, easy to incorporate and most fun.
- Go for a Walk
- Listen to your favorite song
- Have a Herbal Tea
- Dance to your favorite song
- Call a Friend
- Meditate
- Donate
- Cook a healthy meal
- Write in your journal
- Pay someone a compliment
- Try Yoga
- Dress-up
- Read
- Get yourself some fresh flowers or a plant
- Listen to a Podcast
- Bake Cupcakes
- Buy a Meal for someone
- Eat your favorite chocolate
- Exercise
- Watch a classic movie
- Write 3 things you are grateful for
- Light your favorite candle
- Watch Sunrise
- Learn new things
- Take a relaxing hot bath
These are some proven approaches which will bring Happiness to you in no time. Keep searching for more meaningful activities that you relate with and add to your bucket-list. And lastly I would like to mention a quote by one of my dear novelists Paulo Coelho “Whatever you decide to do make sure it makes you happy.”
