The International Day of Happiness, celebrated on March 20th each year, is a perfect opportunity for an individual to consider pursuing those things that will improve his own well-being and happiness. Some may think that this means they need to have a better job, more money or a nicer home, but the secret to true and lasting happiness may actually be far simpler.
Tips for Boosting Happiness
There are many ways that an individual can boost their happiness, and the truth is that obtaining more or better material things don’t really matter at all. Following are some easier ways to boost one’s happiness:
- Accept all emotions–good and bad. All emotions are perfectly normal to experience at the appropriate times, and accepting these emotions can actually contribute to one’s overall well-being and happiness. Suppressing emotions, even bad ones, can actually lead to frustration and may cause one to sit in undesirable emotions longer than if they simply accepted it and then moved on.
- Introduce new challenges to one’s basic structure and routine. There is no arguing that happiness can be derived from the predictability of a basic structure and routine, but introducing new challenges that can push the individual out of their comfort zone can actually boost one’s happiness.
- Ignore past problems and live in the present. Many individuals are so focused on things that have happened to them that they stop recognizing what they are actually capable of creating here and now. However, setting and achieving new goals can be a great source of happiness for the individual, so they should seek to break with the past and focus on the present.
- Find ways to laugh often. It’s easy to take a challenging life too seriously, and forget to enjoy all the little things that come our way. However, finding ways to enjoy life and laugh often can boost one’s happiness, and help one to better make it through the challenging times.
- Know and use your personal strengths. There is great joy to be had when an individual uses their strengths for their own and others’ good. It can help them to feel energized and empowered, and more focused on what they can do well rather than on what they cannot do well.
- Avoid negative thoughts. Negative thoughts are simply not productive–they just seem to form a barrier of what an individual cannot do or have. Instead, the individual should spend their time focusing on positive things.
- Start your day with something you love. Especially when life can seem to be an endless cycle on a never-ending wheel, starting one’s day with something one loves to do can help to give one an entirely different outlook on the day ahead.
- Discover a new passion. Exploring new activities can cause one to realize that they may be passionate about something they never previously experienced. These activities, such as painting, writing poetry, or dancing, can add great pleasure and enjoyment to one’s life.
- Eliminate unnecessary downers. If one begins every day by reading a newspaper that is filled with depressing stories, it’s hard to imagine how they can create and maintain happiness throughout that day. These small bits of unnecessary and upsetting information can be removed from one’s day-to-day activities and the result can be a sharp increase in well-being and happiness.
It may take time to find a rhythm that helps one to feel happy, but it is well worth searching out as a happy life is far more enjoyable and exciting, not only for the individual himself but usually for others around him as well.
