5 WAYS TO FEEL HAPPIER NOW

“Happiness consists of living each day as if it was the first day of your honeymoon and the last day of your vacation.” – Not sure who made this quote but I like it.

The first big secret of happy people is that they are aware they are responsible for their own happiness.

No matter what your starting point may be, no matter what may have happened in the past, no matter the opinion others may have on you, you’re the one who holds the key to your own happiness and if you’re not happy about something, you've got the power to change it.

However, “You can’t change what you refuse to confront.” And if you don’t take the action of confronting the things you want to improve in your life, that’s the same thing as deciding to stay in the same place.

Here’s some tips to get you started on your way to becoming a happier person; 

1. Treat yourself good:  It's one of the oldest sayings in the book; "Your first love should always be self love." But it makes total sense, the one person you always have to put up with is yourself, so you ought to be treating yourself good. Take time to relax and maybe even have a day where you 'unplug' and just have time to yourself for a bit. Let yourself lose track of time, it doesn't even have to be for a full day you could just allocate yourself an hour of the day for a relaxing treatment, to spend watching a film, writing, playing music; whatever it is you like to do. It's important to take time away from your daily routine to re-energise yourself. Those who learn to enjoy their own company are often the happiest of people. "When there is no enemy within, the enemy outside cannot hurt you."

2. Invest in others:   According to statistics, helping others leads to a boost in self-esteem, it makes you feel needed and you feel good about yourself -seeing others do well as a result of your help. Feeling needed and appreciated are good contributors to our confidence and happiness.  Seeing people who appear to be worse off than you can also help you view your life in a whole new light, helping you gain a new perspective on things. Uphold in-person connections, with social networking so popular actually socialising has become less important. Wherever you are be all there, put down your phone for a minute and take time to listen and have deeper meaningful convos. Help fill that feeling of social isolation we all sometimes get. "When you wake up in the morning and your life means something other than to you, you have a purpose." - Will Smith 

3. Engage in meaningful activities:  By engaging in meaningful activities you are making new discoveries/finding new ways to do things. You tend to learn more about yourself and if these activities have a social aspect you meet more people who may be similar to you in some way , shape or form which can build life long friendships. There's so much of the world out there, people who just stick to what they know tend to have the sense that 'something is missing' more often than those who are open to trying new things or involved in activity of some sort. Helping the community out through volunteering or allowing your mind to rest through meditation are examples of activities you can undertake.

"In studies at the University of Missouri, published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, activities that created more positive emotions also enhanced people's experience of meaning in their daily lives." - http://www.sharecare.com/health/emotional-health/what-mean-live-meaningful-life

4. Be more appreciative : Imagine if everything good you have today was taken away from you and then given back to you at a later date, you'd be so happy when you finally got it back. No matter where you are in life, things could be so much worse, if you're dwelling on what you don't like you're going to attract more things that you don't want to happen to you, whereas if you start being grateful and showing appreciation for what you already have, you'll start to recognise the good things that are occurring in your daily life better. People who focus mainly on the good seem to have a better attitude towards their life. "The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the best out of everything they have."

Tip to help: I have a 'gratitude journal' - At the end of each day I write  5 things I was grateful for that day, it can be anything as small as 'Having enough time to grab a bite to eat this morning.' or 'winning £1 on a scratch card' and if you're really struggling you can try just 3. It helps you to consciously recognise the good in your life.

5. It's not about the money:

"If you do things for money you make bad choices. If you do what you love [you're a whole lot happier] you'll learn to make money doing it." - Will Smith.

It is common for people to get caught up in the "I just want to be rich." thinking mode, but is it worth the material wealth if it results in you being mentally/emotionally poor? If you can live off your interest, and you can, because jobs are being created in all sorts of areas everyday, then there's no reason you shouldn't. It just takes, taking the progressive steps, doing the research and having hardcore dedication, to do it. It might take some saving and some time but if you've got something to work to you’re generally a lot more driven, especially if it’s something you actualy want to do. We live in a time of peak entrepreneurship,  people are starting to think outside the box, if they can do it, why can’t you? It’s time to stop making excuses and start making improvements.
After all, if you're not doing what you love, you are wasting your time. 

Best of luck with maintaining a positive mindset and taking the action needed to get where you want to be, remember; 

"The grass is always greener where you water it." 

Love and light

xo

Twitter: tyisha_rochelle