Practice Happiness Habits Happiness isn’t something we can buy and there’s no point chasing it. But we CAN practice it!
1
Nourish healthy relationships.
People with close friends are happier. It doesn’t matter if you have four besties or one. What makes a difference is if and how often you share feelings and spend time with someone you trust. Focus essential energy on your loved ones, nourish your healthy relationships, and whenever possible avoid toxic relationships.
2
Show kindness.
3
Be grateful.
4
Live in awareness.
People who volunteer or care for others regularly are happier. Having a “prosocial focus” (doing kind acts for others) increases our own happiness. Random acts of kindness count, too!
Study after study shows that people who write down three things they are grateful for each day are happier in their lives after just six weeks.
Too often, our default is to move mindlessly through our days. When we are mindful, we’re more engaged and less judgmental. We have thousands of thoughts a day and many are negative. Try to catch yourself in any negative self-talk and reframe. Talk yourself up! Just as important is to pay attention to positive experiences. Savor them!
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5
Utilize your strengths and find time for activities you love.
6
Take care of physical well-being.
Happy people have discovered their own unique strengths and use them not only as they strive for personal goals but also in pursuit of a greater cause or purpose. When we’re involved in an activity that aligns with our skills but also challenges us, we enter a state of “flow” — so immersed we lose track of time. Flow is a happy place to be!
The way we eat, breathe, move and rest, even our facial expressions, affects the release of our body’s feelgood chemicals. A landmark analysis of 23 studies on exercise and depression concluded that regular exercise had a “large clinical impact” on depression. Happiness is the collective experience of our positive emotions. Take stock of the habits you already practice and keep at it! Observe which happiness habits could use a little more of your attention, and try to find time to practice. Learn more at Pursuit-of-Happiness.org.
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