Struggling to be happy? If you want to feel happier on a more consistent basis, here are 6 habits of happy people. Because happiness is something that you can cultivate to feel more consistently.
In the last few blog posts, I’ve been tackling the subject of happiness because I think that it truly is the foundation of life.
If you’re unhappy, what’s really the point of life. If you don’t feel happy at a deep level, then you will never truly live life fully.
And that’s what I want for you. To live life fully and to experience life to its fullest.
Because there are so many amazing things in the world and in life that you need to experience and feel and see and do, and it would be such a waste to feel unhappy and to get caught up in some of the sh*t and challenges that life will inevitably throw at you.
Don’t get me wrong, even though I’m an advocate of happiness, I’m also realistic and I know that life can be hard and there will almost always be some kind of challenge.
- Related : 6 Ways to Being Happier, No Matter What
But I want you to take away from my content and from this “series” on happiness is that you have the capacity and the choice and the possibility to be happy, right now, no matter what.
I know it’s a bold statement to make but it’s the truth. Because I know it firsthand.
Despite a challenging year and the sh*t I’ve gone through, I still feel a deeper sense of happiness and peace that I haven’t felt in my life. And I want to share that with you. I want YOU to feel like you can choose to be happy, no matter what’s going on.
Why are some people happier than others?
I won’t go into the definition of what happiness is because I’ve talked defined it in previous blog posts. But what I wanted to quickly touch upon is the difference between happy people and unhappy people.
Happy people choose happiness. They have created a mindset and habits and practices, whether consciously or not, to cultivate happiness in their lives.
Happiness is a choice. And how you choose to live your life, every day, will contribute to your level of happiness.
Let me be more specific. If you feel happier when you do something like spend time with family or do art projects or being in nature, then you will make a conscious effort to do those things, on a regular basis, so that you can feel happier.
Now let me take it a step further. If you know that you’re not fully satisfied with yourself and you want to become stronger, or work on a “weakness” like being impatient or not being disciplined, then you will (or at least should) make a conscious effort to work on those things so that you can feel proud and happier with yourself.
- Related : How to Cultivate Habits in 5 Steps
Do you see how your habits and your daily practices can impact your happiness?
How you can CHOOSE to be happy? But how you can also choose to do things to also cultivate that happiness?
And that’s what I wanted to talk about in this blog post. The habits that you can cultivate and practice on a daily and weekly basis to feel happier, more consistently.
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Happiness Habit # 1 | Be mindful and present in the moment
Take a moment and think about the distractions you’ve had in the last 5-10 minutes, as you’re trying to read this blog post. Have you been checking your notifications and text messages? Did someone come talk to you and interrupt your flow of thought?
Distractions are all around us, and it’s getting worse by the day with how much we are being bombarded and pulled from every side.
And what does that do? Our minds are constantly busy and distracted. We are not focused on the present moment but are thinking about the past or worried about the future and unable to enjoy the NOW.
Mindfulness is about bringing awareness to how you’re feeling right now, and to be conscious of the present moment.
How does that cultivate happiness? Well, it makes you realize that what matters is right now. Not the past and not the future, but right now.
You can learn from the past, but you can’t change it, so why dwell on it?
You can’t predict the future, but you can impact it and guide it (to a certain degree), so why worry about it constantly?
You see, the more you mind is used to distractions, the easier it is to disconnect from what matters the most and what’s important : this moment, right now, which is the only thing that you have control over.
So if you want to feel happier, then you need to learn how to be more mindful and aware of the present moment so that you can manage your thoughts and emotions more effectively.
Happiness Habit # 2 | Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the first habits that I would encourage you to cultivate, especially if you want to be one of “those” people that walk around with what seems like a permanent smile on their faces.
Happy people tend to generally have a more positive mindset where they are able to focus on the good of any situation. Like I said before, life will inevitably have challenges along the way, and the more you practice how to shift your focus towards the good, the easier it will be and the more happiness you can cultivate.
And one of the most powerful tools you have to cultivate happiness is by learning how to practice gratitude every single moment and almost single day.
Gratitude is your ability to be thankful, at a deeper level, for the blessings in your life and the things that you have. It’s focusing on the things that bring you joy and happiness.
And the more you focus on those things, the more positivity you will be able to cultivate in your life.
Happiness Habit # 3 | Doing the inner work
An important habit of happy people is that they are aware of themselves at a deeper level. They are constantly working on themselves to become a better version of themselves.
When you start doing the inner work, you will see the transformation in your life. When you work on yourself, you will start seeing the results outside of yourself as well.
Using the example of gratitude : if you do some introspection and realize that you need to work on your mindset because you tend to be more “negative”, then you will use a tool like gratitude to cultivate a more positive and inspired mindset.
Once you start practicing gratitude, you will feel better, more positive more empowered. And what will be the external result of this inner work? You will draw more positivity into your life. You will have more energy to give back to yourself to work on your dreams and your goals. You will be a source of positive energy and people will be drawn to that.
Only good things will come from you doing the inner work.
And if you want to feel happier, you must work on yourself to better understand who you are, what your values are, what you want and what your strengths and weaknesses are so that you can work on creating a life that you love and that you’re excited to live.
Happiness Habit # 4 | Self-reflection
This is closely tied to habit #3 but it’s still worth mentioning in a separate section.
Self-reflection is the process of taking your thoughts, actions and behaviours into account by asking yourself : Was I the best version of myself today? Am I proud of my thoughts? Did I behave the right way? Was I kind to myself? Was I kind with others? How could I have done better? What could I change tomorrow?
If you take the time, every day, to reflect on yourself, then you will grow faster and become stronger at a quicker rate. Which will in turn make you feel happier because you will feel more confident and proud of yourself because you are constantly becoming a better version of yourself.
Self-reflection is a simple yet powerful tool that’s important to cultivate if you want to be happier because it will help you keep in check and make sure that you are not wasting any time or energy on things that are not worth it.
Happiness Habit # 5 | Journaling
Journaling can help you feel happier because it’s a tool to help you clear your mind from the thoughts and emotions that might not be serving you.
There are so many ways that you can journal, but the foundation of it is to free your mind of the clutter that’s holding you back from feeling happy.
- Related : How to Transform Your Mindset
I know that some of you, journaling is a habit that might be harder to get into, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. It can even be 5 minutes per day, but trust me, it will have a powerful and positive impact on you.
Happiness Habit # 6 | Morning routine
As mentioned before, happiness is a habit that you need to cultivate, but it’s also about the habits themselves – the habits that you choose to cultivate to feel happier on a consistent basis.
And one of the habits of happy people is to have a positive and inspiring morning routine that they look forward to practicing, every day.
It seems so simple and .. it really is! Create an inspiring morning routine and start practicing it, every day, and you will see how it can impact your day. How much it will affect your mindset and how much better you will feel.
Because the foundation of happiness are the little things that you do on a consistent basis. So if you start your day with positivity and a routine that you enjoy, then it will become easier to carry that with you throughout the day so that you can feel happier.
Get Started!
I want you to pick ONE of the happiness habits and to practice it, consistently, for 1 week.
If you notice that it has impacted you positively, then continue for another week. And then another. And then maybe after one month of consistently practicing this habit, you can add another.
You have to commit to yourself and to your happiness. If you want to feel happier, if you want to be one of those people that goes through life seemingly with breeze, then you have to start practicing these happiness habits so that you can feel happier.
And if you’re ready to take your life to the next level, then you need to check out the Create a Life of Love and Purpose Master Class that will teach all the tools and strategies you need to feel happier and more fulfilled.
Anonymous says
I was doing my daily positive thoughts routine when I came across with your blog. It resonate very much with what I have started doing with my music blog.
Have a happy life no matter what !