We 5 Proven Ways To Be Happier
Aren’t we all looking for happiness.
Sounds like a silly question, right?
But at the end of the day, we’re all searching or reaching for something.
If you were to ask somebody what their ultimate goal in life was, they might say something like…
- to earn a certain income or…
- to have a certain career and retire, …
- or to live in a certain home in a certain location with a certain square footage,
- or maybe to have a family.
But if you kept pressing them and asked them,… “Why do you want to attain that goal? Why? Why do you want to reach that goal?
Most times it would come back to them saying,…
…To Be Happy,
We were all SEEKING for happiness, right?
Notice the way I asked that question. I asked that question specifically that way with that emphasis on purpose.
Because it always seems that we’re seeking, we’re searching, we’re on some quest for happiness.
But should happiness be something that we attain only when we reach a certain goal or when we get to a certain point in life.
Or… should you decide to choose to be happy at this point, right now, in the present moment, rather than attaining it when you reach some goal in your life.
Steve Maraboli said,…
“Happiness is a state of mind, a choice, a way of thinking. It is not something to be achieved. It is something to be experienced.”
You see, very often you are most intently searching for happiness when you’re not in a good place. When you’re stressed out for one reason or another.
You’re caught in a negative state because you’re mad or sad about some traumatic event that’s happened to you or you’re worrying about the future.
So you say things like,… “I’ll be happy when things calm down a little bit, or when I get that big promotion or when I retire or when I reach this goal or that goal.”
And it goes on and on and on, and the cycle goes round and round and you hinge your happiness upon attaining a certain goal or reaching a certain level. And sometimes they’re unrealistic ones in our own mind.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m a big proponent of goals. I think specifically set goals are essentials for us moving forward in life. But your happiness should not be pinned upon reaching goals or not.
You see, you can choose to be happy right now.
Roy T. Bennett said,…
“Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make, makes you. So choose wisely.”
Aristotle said, …
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
Marcus Aurelius said,…
“Very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within yourself in your way of thinking.”
Now, you could say, “Mark, I have this going on in my, my life right now. And I have that going on in my life. And I’ve got all this craziness and I’ll just be happy when things calm down a little.”
Well, you can say that. We all have a lot going on in our lives. And if you’re waiting for things to calm down for happiness to arrive, guess what? You’ll probably be waiting a long time.
So don’t wait!
Make the choice, decide right now to focus on being happy and focusing on happiness, regardless of what’s going on in your life, good or bad.
In my course, The Focused Mind, I talk about developing a Positive, Proactive Mindset, where…
- You develop a constructive, positive attitude towards life.
- You live life on purpose by taking actions on your goals.
- You have appreciation and gratitude for what you have for who you love and who loves you.
- And you focus your mind on being present in the moment.
But now, since you’ve made the choice, you’ve decided to focus on being happy in the moment and being present in the moment.
Let’s talk about 5 ways that are scientifically proven to help you focus on being happier and improving your happiness right now.
Now the first proven method to improve happiness is…
1. To Exercise
There was an article in a New York times that said seven minutes of exercise can improve your happiness. Now. we All have seven minutes during our day. Whether we do stretching, range of motion, free weights, thorough bands, walking, some other form of aerobics.
Seven minutes of exercise can make a difference. But the fact of the matter is if you consistently exercise now more is better, but seven minutes to start with. It’ll make a difference.
The second method to improve your happiness is…
2. To Get Outside More
In the book called: The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, he said getting outside for 20 minutes in the fresh air, made a difference in levels of happiness, in focus and in memory.
And then there was a research done by the university of Sussex in the UK that said specifically, people enjoyed being by the coast, by the water out in nature. And they said specifically 57 degrees was the best temperature that they cited for maximal benefit.
Now, here we are in the fall and this would be a perfect time to get outside in the good weather and improve your happiness level.
And a third proven way is
3. Helping others.
Again, in Shawn Achors book, The Happiness Advantage, they talk about spending money in group activities like going out to dinner, the movies, and doing other group activities.
Other studies show that helping people and being in service, whether it’s at your church or food kitchens or helping the needy in any way.
And they said, and the magic number is 100 hours per year that helped improve your own happiness levels by being in service to others.
And the fourth way to improve your happiness is…
4. To improve your quality of sleep.
The studies show that most people need seven to eight hours of sleep and sometimes more. And by improving our sleep quality, we can improve our focus, enhance our calm and control during our day and make better decisions.
And the fifth way to improve your happiness is…
5. Meditation.
In essence, you’re rewiring your brain for happiness . In a study done by a research group from the Massachusetts general hospital, they focused on 16 people and they did research on pre and post levels of happiness after they’ve done an eight week mindful meditation session.
They found that levels of happiness were improved after meditation. Meditation improved your focus, your control, your decision making and your ability to remain calm during your day.
Now, if you’ve never meditated before, start by focusing on your breathing. Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out. Only focusing on your breath, start with one breath, then go to three breaths and then five breaths. If you find yourself pulling away and you see all your thought bubbles moving around and all the things that you have to do;… that’s meditation.
Recognize it, bring yourself back and focus on your breathing.
What works great for some people is to do guided meditation where there’s somebody with a calm, soothing voice that agrees with your mind, talking you through the meditation. They’re usually seven to 10 minutes and I actually love ’em myself. I use the Calm App.
This is not an advertisement in any way.
There’s other things like Head Space but, like I said, I use com app.
Now those are five proven methods to increase your happiness.
There are many more, but I wanted to include five there.
So remember, don’t wait!
Don’t let happiness be something that you achieve when you get to a certain level or you attain when you get to a certain point in your life. Or when things just calm down a little bit.
Decide now. Make the choice to focus on your happiness. Happiness is a choice. It’s a journey. It’s not a destination of someplace you get to eventually . You can choose to be happy right now, despite or regardless of what’s going on in your life.
So Choose Happiness.
Well, I hope this information Helped you out.
I want you to have a great day and remember as always…
Be Positive, Be Motivated, Be Focused and Be Well,
Have a great day.
Mark
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