We could all use a happiness boost right now, right?
We all know how important habits are in life. Habits can make or break us. Some of us float through life and don’t even realize the routines that we follow are keeping us stuck. We are on auto-pilot.
Now is a good time to stop and think about your habits. What are your routines, your habits? Are they helping you or hurting you? This list is a great place to start thinking about ways to increase your happiness level.
If you can implement these 10 habits, you have the potential for optimum happiness!
1. Focus on your own self-improvement and growth
Stop trying to change others – they will only change if THEY want to change. True change must come from within the individual. You must either accept them as they are, unconditionally or move on.
We often have the tendency to think that we know what’s best for others. “If only she would do this” or “if only he would stop doing that”. You can’t change them! It will only cause you frustration and can even ruin the relationship.
Having expectations on how others should behave will only lead to disappointment.
Instead, focus on YOU and ways that you can increase your knowledge and improve yourself. Often when you focus on your own growth, those close to you will see your improvement and may be inspired to make their own changes.
2. Make time for one thing that you love
With work, family, chores, and everyday life, it’s hard to fit in time for anything that doesn’t feel like a necessity. But making time for something you love IS a necessity.
This could be as simple as reading a book you love, going for a walk, going out with friends, volunteering, cooking a fancy meal, joining a club, etc.
Making time for things you love is good for your mental health and can increase your positivity, an instant happiness boost.
Doing things you love can also introduce you to new opportunities you wouldn’t have otherwise had and possibly increase your social circle. This can be extremely beneficial for manifesting.
Say, for example, you are starting a business and looking for someone to set up your website. You’ve been trying to manifest all of these things coming together. You sign up for a cooking class, you know, to make time for something you love, and there she is! Coincidentally, you meet a website designer during the cooking class and can now get your website built!
3. Find meaning and importance in your job
Job dissatisfaction is at an all time high. Nearly half of all working people say they are dissatisfied with their jobs. That’s a huge amount of people who are unhappy for AT LEAST 40 hours per week. If you’re included in this percentage, listen up.
Here are a few ideas to help you feel more satisfied in the workplace.
-Every job has the opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life. Take some time to think about how your job can make a difference. Who’s life are you touching to improve or inspire? Knowing that you’re making a difference to someone else can give you a boost of satisfaction.
-Most likely, you don’t love or enjoy every aspect of your jobs. Let’s consider your least favorite part of your job. Think about why it is necessary and what would happen if you didn’t do it. For example, in food service, you may not enjoy cleaning tables. But it is extremely important to keep a clean dining area for customers. Taking pride in this task shows that you care about your customers and you want them to have a great dining experience. Sometimes the smallest details can be the most important.
-Another way to increase job satisfaction is to seek out ways to improve and become an expert at what you do. Take on new projects. Challenges can often lead to inspiration and motivation. It may even lead to a raise or promotion! Give it your all, 100%. This can make a job that you don’t love more tolerable until you are able to move on. Or you may even grow to love it once you’ve become an expert!
4. Seek things to be grateful for
This is one that you’ve probably heard over and over again, but are you actually doing it?
Some people find keeping a gratitude journal helpful. I personally didn’t find this helpful. I’ve tried it over and over again, but it would always start turning into more of a chore than something that brought me joy.
Instead, I just take several moments throughout the day to think about things I’m grateful for…..a warm blanket, snuggles from my dog, a joke that made me smile. I will say it out loud even if no one is around. I want the universe to know how grateful I am!
Try being more present throughout the day. Turn off your auto-pilot and be mindful of the abundance that surrounds you. Let the universe know how thankful you are.
5. Perform random acts of kindness
It’s impossible to not feel good while performing a random act of kindness. Try to make a conscious effort to do at least one random act of kindness each day. These can be as simple as holding a door for someone, letting someone merge in traffic, or sending a birthday card to a friend.
An extra bonus in doing random acts of kindness is that it often encourages others to perform their own kind acts, spreading the joy even further.
Coming soon: a post full of “easy to do” random acts of kindness!
6. Find or create something to look forward to
Remember that feeling when you were a kid and you had something exciting coming up? You were going to an amusement park or going on vacation and you could barely contain the giddiness. It seems like we lose this sense of excitement as adults.
It’s time to reclaim the giddiness! Find something that gives you that feeling. Plan a vacation, or a family gathering to spend time with loved ones. Make special plans for an upcoming holiday…go all out with food, decorations, games. Even little things like planning a date night or going out to see a movie can awaken that exciting feeling.
Make it a big deal and get excited!
7. Find genuine happiness for others when they succeed
Your sister got a promotion, your friend found her soulmate and is getting married…it’s sometimes hard to not be jealous when others get what you want. However, you will feel so much better about life when you learn to let go of that envy and jealousy.
Remember that their success doesn’t take away from what you can have.
Instead use their success as inspiration. What ways can you improve to be more successful in your own life?
8. Truly listen to others
When in a conversation, are you always thinking about what you’re going to say next? This is something I’m actively working on and it’s hard!
Try staying present in the moment and truly listening to what the other person is saying. You might just be surprised at what you will learn. Everyone we meet has something to teach us.
Truly listening can build genuine connections with others and make you more likable.
9. Remove negativity from your life
This is a really tough one because we live in a time of social media and instant access to so much information. As much as possible try to stay away from negativity. It’s hard, maybe impossible to avoid 100% of the time, but there are some things you can do to reduce it.
Stop watching the news. It’s nearly all doom and gloom. If something big happens that you need to know about, you will hear about it from others.
Unfollow those on social media that make you feel bad or don’t do anything to contribute to your growth.
Seek out and follow those who inspire you to grow and continuously improve.
10. Use your fancy things
Your expensive dishes, your favorite candles, the new fluffy towels….use them! Stop saving them for a special occasion.
Your life is a special occasion! You deserve to have and use nice things.
We often worry about using them up or wearing them out and then you won’t have nice things anymore, but it’s time to change those thoughts. Instead, let’s get into an abundant mindset.
Good things will always come to you, especially when you make the space for them.
You deserve happiness. It might be time to turn off your auto-pilot and build some new habits for happiness!
