How to be happy? Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Are you enjoying your life or is it just passing by? Are you happy or trying to be happy? Are you so focused on achieving your goals that you are forgetting to enjoy your life? Do you not want to be happy with what you have and with where you are? If you are like most of the people who are so determined and focused in their lives to achieve something, then most probably you are falling in the trap of being so concentrated that you neglect to enjoy each and every moment on your journey to attaining your goal.

There is an unfortunate reason why happiness is so hard to understand because your brain is just stuck in how to protect, how to survive, or how to keep you safe. It has no time to get relaxed and live in the moment. If you want to be happy then you have to reset your baselines as it won’t happen overnight, but the following tips can help you to live a happier life. Abraham Lincoln says:

“People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be”

1. Focus on the positive

In order to find long term happiness for yourself, all you had to do is to shun your brain from negative thoughts and to change it in a positive mindset. To be positive, you have to try these things:  Spend some time to look at the positive things in your life.

Do this activity at least three times a day for 45 days, and then your brain will start doing it automatically. You have to choose a positive quote for your day- something that you will repeat to yourself. It will keep you motivated and positive. Most importantly, you should never underestimate the significance of little things in your life that makes you positive and happy.

2. Celebrate Little Victories | be happy

Life is full of ebb and flows. You have to face a lot of difficulties in your life. But sometimes, you remain so busy in dealing with problems that you forget to celebrate the little victories of your life. You must have to take a moment to celebrate your small achievements. These little victories include: You have done all the things in your to-do list that you had been procrastinating for a long time. You have checked and responded to all the emails. There are many more achievements of such kind. You should take pride and pleasure in these small wins.

3. Accept imperfection

Most people work so hard for the sake of being perfect.  Some push themselves to be at their best. But in order to be truly and genuinely happy, you have to accept your imperfections because they are part of your life. To be perfect is impossible and holding yourself and others to such standards is pointless.

If you believe in perfection, then you will always end up feeling let down. You have to accept the fact that life is imperfect and the beauty and grace of life lies in this imperfection. When you start believing in this, you will be happy with all you have. As Ralph Marston says:

“You were born to be real not to be perfect. You are here to be you, not to live someone else’s life”

Similarly, Kartika Atmadja says:

“You are just human. Being imperfect does not make you any less”

4. Spend wisely

Everyone believes in the fact that the more money you have, the happier you will be. It seems tempting but the reality is, your happiness depends on how you spend the money. The key point is to spend it in a wise and prudent way.

For example, you can spend money on experiences of different sorts- like traveling, dining, or attending concerts because it makes you happier when you share those experiences with others. You should keep this thing in mind that happiness related to material thing do not last long so you should associate your happiness with the things that are not materialistic like experiences or purpose of your life or any other passion that you have. It will make your life easy and happy.

5. Live in the Moment

It is so obvious that the feelings and thoughts of a normal man revolve around his past or future. But the reality is what you are experiencing at the moment or what you are thinking or doing or going through in that very moment.

Sometimes, you want an escape from reality but it seems impossible at the same time. In this case, you have to try to stay in the present and engage yourself fully in your life. Endeavor to live in the moment, and you will automatically begin to appreciate your life. As a result of living in the moment, you will be satisfied with your life, which in turn makes you happy.

6. Give back

You should be generous with your time, your money or any other asset that you have. Give these things to people in need. Give it to those who will do anything for you. Give it to those who love you and care for you. As you know those who give back have a sense of selflessness and humanitarianism.

People who are generous in spending their money on others or giving their time to someone in need tend to have good health because has a feel-good effect that can keep you fit. Speaking more particularly, it lowers your blood pressure and stress. So, try to give back to those in need. It will help you to be happier in life.

7. Surprise yourself

It is hard to feel happy if you are bored or feeling weird about your life. Part of feeling happy is stimulated, interested, and a little surprised by life. So, you have to surprise yourself by setting goals that are outside your comfort zone. Put yourself in new or unexpected situations. Then set your goals and work hard to achieve them. And most importantly try to enjoy the ride. By doing this, you will be happy.

8. Hang out with Happy people

Do you ever hang out with a gloomy person and later on felt low? If yes, then the reason is that moods are kind of contagious. In other words, feelings can be transferred from one person to another, and the more you share experiences with others, the more your emotions, attitudes, and behaviors become synchronized. One secret to achieving long term happiness is surrounding yourself with people who are happy with their lives or with all they have.

All in all, the process of being happy is simply to replace the unhappiness- producing habits with happiness- producing habits. Change your thinking and attitude. Drive off the thoughts that lead to fear or discouragements and replace them with positive ones. You should learn to appreciate what you have and where you are on the journey of achieving your dreams.

Always remember that your life will not start when you achieve what you want to achieve, your life is right here and now. The present is all you have. Try to enjoy your present and work hard, so you will never regret anything in the future and be happy.  Fredrick Keonig said:

“We tend to forget that happiness does not come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have”

Listen to this song by Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry Be Happy. Thank me in the comments section for this.