If your day-to-day life has been craving some extra happiness, this blog post is for you! Simply put, at the risk of sounding corny, happiness is a goal worth pursuing, as it makes life worth living. Maybe your life has felt boring, mundane, or even downright unhappy lately. Now’s the time to turn that around! While each of us has different things that make us happy, there are some general ways we could all bring more of this feeling forward. Without further ado, let’s explore them!
1) Give yourself something (or preferably numerous somethings) to look forward to.
Some of our greatest happiness comes from the anticipation of things we know will make us happy. It could be that fun night out with friends, that wedding you got invited to, that weekend beach trip, etc. It could even be much smaller joys like a night to yourself to relax, a new season of your favorite TV show, or a craft project you’re starting. Anything that makes you smile just thinking about it qualifies! My challenge to you is to fill up your calendar with as many big and small examples of this as you can. The more you have to look forward to, the happier you’ll be in your everyday life!
2) Romanticize the little things.
My post 8 Ways to Romanticize Your Life provides some examples of this concept in action. In a nutshell, though, you don’t have to do anything grandiose or extravagant in order to romanticize your life. Whether it’s imagining your life as a TV show (with you as the main character, of course) or making your spaces feel more like you, the little things can add up quickly. Since our lives are made up of the small moments more than anything else, it’s important not to rest our happiness solely on the shoulders of the big moments. Of course, those milestones and special occasions are worth celebrating, but the in-between deserves more than a gloss-over. There’s beauty in all of it!
3- Create a plan and take action on anything that’s been making you unhappy.
All too often, dissatisfaction becomes the default mode, because we put our desires on the back-burner. If there’s a change you’ve been wanting to make, make your happiness a priority and get working on it! Depending on the nature of the change, it might take a long time to come to fruition. However, just knowing that you’re doing your part and taking action should help you feel better. As per the first point, you can look forward to your own progress, which you’re currently an active participant in creating!
4- Remember that happiness shouldn’t be contingent on the external.
Yes, this is easier said than done, but when you master it, it will be a game-changer! Of course, happiness comes a lot more naturally when your circumstances are great. During those times, you have every right to celebrate and enjoy those circumstances to the fullest. Alternatively, when your circumstances aren’t ideal, you have every right to feel your feelings about it. You won’t always be happy, since life inevitably throws you reasons to be unhappy. However, if your happiness is completely reliant on outside factors, it can be disrupted a whole lot more easily and often.
Being able to make yourself happy as a result of the close relationship you have with yourself is the ultimate flex. You can spend time in your solitude, engage in activities that make you happy, make yourself laugh, etc. These beautiful things can’t be taken away from you. If your happiness is rooted within, you’re golden!
The bottom line…
While it’s unrealistic to expect happiness 24/7, hopefully these tips give you direction for how to bring forth more of it in your life. Remember, you have more power over your happiness than you might sometimes think, so may this be your reminder to exercise it!
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