How to Be Happy -20 Tips That Really Work! from MichelleRowley,author of "Personal Growth Strategies".
Tip 1 Have a positive attitude. One of the most significant,contributing factors to happiness is optimistic thinking.Although you won't always have a choice in determining what goeson around you, you will always have a choice in determining howreact to what goes on around you. This will largely determinethe extent to which you are, or aren't happy.
Tip 2 Make happiness a priority. If happiness is not at the topof your list then other things will take your focus. We becomewhat we think about all day, so think, positive happy thoughts.It's a choice, moment by moment.
Tip 3 Live your values. Be true to yourself. By living your lifeaccording to your values, you will develop an attitude of trueacceptance of yourself. You will realize that you are fine theway you are. You may choose to make some changes in your lifesimply because you realize that you have greater potential thanyou have utilized so far.
Tip 4 Love Yourself. High self-esteem is crucial for a happylife. Healthy self-esteem means relying on what's on the inside,rather than what's happening in the outside world to make youhappy. Self-esteem is the core of your power and all else stemsfrom this.
Tip 5 Set goals for success. Give your mind a positive goal tofocus on. Just like in any other life area, the successfulpursuit of happiness requires planning. Planning requireseffective goal setting. And don't forget to make sure your goalsare SMART (specific,measurable, achievable, relevant and timed).
Tip 6 Do things that make you happy. Although this soundsobvious, many people simply forget to do things from which theygain pleasure. And do them as often as possible.
Tip 7 Live in the present moment. Remember that life is finite.The author, Henry Miller once said "Every moment is a golden onefor him who has the vision to recognize it as such. "The onlymoment in which we can truly be happy is the present moment. Theonly moment over which we have control is the present moment. Sobe happy now! Because if not now, then when?
Tip 8 Have a laugh Laughing is one of the quickest ways to sendour happiness levels soaring. A Stanford University study showedthat one minute of laughter equaled 10 minutes on a rowingmachine in terms of warding off stress.
Tip 9 Engage in random acts of kindness. Did you know that bysimply being kind to another person or witnessing a kind actboosts your serotonin levels in you and the other person? Italso increases the levels in another person witnessing the act.Happy people are more generous and altruistic.
Tip 10 Eat your way to happiness. Fuel up on fish: Fish are highin omega-3s which boost your happiness. Eat complexcarbohydrates - this means wholegrain bread, starchy vegetables,beans and pulses, and wholegrain cereals. MIT scientists saythese boost the brain's levels of serotonin, which plays a bigrole in how happy we feel. Take Tryptophan. Found in turkey,avocados and bananas, tryptophan promotes the production ofserotonin. A study published in the journal Brain, Behavior andImmunity found a lack of tryptophan can lower your mood levels.Don't forget to take a good amino acid supplement- more and moreinformation is coming out that we need to be supplementing ourdiets with the building blocks of protein- amino-acids.
Tip 11 Go, go and keep going all the way. We all face obstaclesand problems at times. Happy people expect this and adapt tothem. All of the components outlined above are skills that canbe learned. Just like any other skills, you'll get better atutilizing these strategies with practice and perseverance. Stickat it and happiness will be yours.
Tip 12 Focus on your strengths, not weaknesses. Work out whatyou're good at and find ways to do it as much as possible.Happiness is not as much about fixing your faults and overcomingyour weaknesses as it is about finding ways to focus your lifeon and around your talents and qualities.
Tip 13 Have fun and enjoy humor Take delight in life and createfun experiencesfor yourself. Don't make life be too heavy!
Tip 14 Control what you can control. Cultivate the feeling thatyou are in control of your own destiny. Happiness can beenhanced by maximizing the control you have over your life. Solearn and practice skills such as problem solving, timemanagement and meditation and communication. At the same time,however, no one has complete control and so it is also importantto be realistic and to accept that over which you have nocontrol. Accept what youcan't control. And learn to changeproblems into opportunities for growth and development.
Tip 15 Invest time and energy in to your key relationships.Happy people spend more time working on, and in, theirrelationships. Happy people tend to be more supportive of otherpeople in their life.
Tip 16 When a problems arises see what you can learn fromitEverything you do and every person you meet, in everysituation, presents an opportunity to learn, change and grow.Every situation you find yourself in can be a great opportunityto expand yourself. There is always something to learn from aproblem. This is the same for problems in a relationship. Lookat problems as challenges to learn and grow from both foryourselves and your relationship.
Tip 17 Replace negative self talk with positive self talkTheDalai Lama has been quoted saying that "The central method forachieving a happier life is to train your mind in a dailypractice that weakens negative attitudes and strengthenspositive ones." Learn first to identify your negativethoughtsand then begin to challenge those that are negative andunhelpful.
Tip 18 Ensure you get adequate sleep, rest, exercise andwaterListen to your body and what it is telling you. You need totake care of yourself and this also involves getting plenty ofrest, drinking at least 8 glasses of water each day andrelaxation and/or meditation strategies. Exercise regularly.Exercising produces endorphins or "happy" hormones.
Tip 19 Develop a sense of life purpose. Developing a sense oflife purpose will also markedly increase your chances ofexperiencing true happiness. As well as working out where youwant to get to, make sure you have a good reason for why you'retrying to go there.
Tip 20 Be grateful and appreciate what you have. We all havemany choices in life, one of which is whether to focus on allthe things we don't have (of which theremight be many), or tofocus on all the things we do have. There's no doubt, thatgratitude and appreciation will significantly increase yourchances of experiencing happiness
Many of the tips listed here are described in more detail in theebook,Personal GrowthStrategies /
