15 tips to enjoy greater happiness in life

Happiness is a choice! Yes, you have a choice to be happy regardless of your circumstances. Genuinely happy people make the choice to be happy, everyday!

Yes, there are challenges in life, but learning to live through every challenge constantly, to live the life you know you deserve to live, filled with positivity and laughter will lead you to everlasting happiness that radiates to others around you.

Life can bring you down at times, but it is during these moments that you have a choice to build on getting happy. Discover that true happiness is within you and not outside. It is not dependant on others around you, but only on you and the choices you make.

Ever wondered, why some people are happy all the time.

To put things in perspective, it is important to remember that everything that you see on social media is not the complete story, there is a chaotic part of life that is usually hidden from your view.

For example, the pictures of your co-worker’s active social life, won’t tell you of her low self-esteem nor the picture of your friend with her husband and new born baby, will talk about the depression your friend is going through.

It is best not to compare your life to others. Moreover, compared to the versions you see on social media is absolutely dangerous and can make you go down for no good reason at all.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Practice Living in the Present
3. Forgive Yourself and Others
4. Stop Worrying
5. Cultivate Gratitude
6. Engage in Regular Physical Activity
7. Nurture Meaningful Relationships
8. Pursue Personal Growth
9. Practice Mindfulness
10. Set and Achieve Personal Goals
11. Embrace Positivity
12. Engage in Activities You Enjoy
13. Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance
14. Give Back to the Community
15. Seek Professional Help When Needed
16. Conclusion

Here are 15 tips to enjoy greater happiness in your life. Each new day and every moment we are given a choice to be happy. So why not, choose to be happy. 

1. Practice living in the present
   Experience life at the moment and relax all efforts to fill up every moment in anticipation of being somewhere else. Be here in your mind as well as your body, in a state of appreciation with an absence of longing. Be here, and remember to do it now, as thinking about some other place uses up your precious present moments. Practice letting goes of thoughts that are not present.

2. Let go of the past
   Letting go of the past will serve you best. Get your mind to focus on new things, your goals and objectives for the year, quarter and every day. This will help you automatically let go of the things that have been slowing you down. The key to happiness and success is to train your mind to move in a new direction so you send new messages to your subconscious mind, which then brings you opportunities to move forward.
3. Celebrate others’ success
   Watch other people happy and celebrate their success. Do not degrade others in order to elevate yourself. It will affect you in one way or the other. Encourage and celebrate others’ success and it will lighten your mood as well.
4. Seize opportunities
   Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and opportunities and make them great with your unique touch. It will be rewarding when your hard work pays off better than you hoped. Let go of negativity, the cynics and the critics and replace them with optimists and enthusiasts—people who love life, and encourage and nourish optimism. Bask in your good fortune, share your blessings with others and stay happy.
5. Accept change
   Change is a part of life. No matter what it is, change is actually easy and nine times out of ten, beneficial to our lives. Change is a natural occurrence and is paradoxically the only permanent thing we can count on to happen. This time around, don’t put off change, accept and embrace it.
6. Use a variety of coping strategies when stressed out
   Do the things you love to do, whether it is playing with children, listening to music, working out, going for a walk, talking to a neighbor, spending time with your parents, calling a friend, hanging out with other happy people, writing a journal, or simply meditating. For example, if you are caught up in a traffic jam, listen to your favorite songs. Have more than one means to de-stress.
7. Forgive and forget easily
   Forgive yourself and others for your mistakes. Do not spend time scrutinizing and criticizing yourself or others for mistakes. Be compassionate, understand we are all human and see the big picture.
8. Stop worrying
   Worry is like a rocking chair, it keeps you occupied, doesn’t get you anywhere and requires lots of energy. Happy, positive people feel empowered to effect change; they may still have fear, but it spurs them to take action. Pick your battles right. You can get angry over injustice or violence, but not with a poor unsuspecting soul, like your Attendant, who forgot to bring you what you asked for.
9. Enjoy life and laugh easily
   Experience moments of joy and laughter in the simple things of life spontaneously. Be it, when you see children giggle uncontrollably or when you watch a dog do the merry-go-round, trying to catch its tail.
10. Be content with what you have right now
    Accept life as you are in the moment. Buddha and several sages teach that wanting is the source of all suffering. Allow yourself to meld into the perfection of the Universe you live in. Wish for something, strive to obtain something, but if it doesn’t materialize, stay fine without it.
11. Look forward to something specific
    It’s not about expensive outfits, 5-star dinner parties or holidays. Look forward to everything that you love in life, like the smell of fresh flowers, fresh coffee every morning, a catch-up with an old friend, or watching a comedy show or movie with your family over the weekend. You can derive happiness with a positive sense of the future.
12. Express gratitude
    Expressing gratitude on a daily basis for the gifts you have been given in this life can make you happier. The house that you live in, air that you breathe, clean water to drink and use in your daily life, each new day, your lovely mind, and a wonderful brain that works, life in totality etc. There are many things that could have gone wrong in your world, if they didn’t, be grateful.
13. Love someone wholeheartedly
    It doesn’t matter who you love – maybe your spouse, lover, child, grandchild, parents, or best friend. Whoever it is, genuinely love and accept that person. To be truly happy, love someone deeply and wholeheartedly.
14. Sleep well
    When you let go of worry at the end of the day and dump them all out of your system, your body is centered; you will be able to fall asleep naturally. Getting good sleep is important to become happy and is a sign of happiness. Getting quality sleep is very crucial to health and happiness and should be everyone’s #1 priority.
15. Take care of your body
    Have a positive outlook towards life and take care of the place where you live in, your body, and the vessel that carries your soul. Even if you are not in the picture of great health, do not give up on yourself and your body. You may have a chronic illness or be in severe pain; you can still care for your health and do the things that support your wellness.

Blog credits: Suneeta Lawrence – uExcelerate coach