3 Simple Steps to a Happy Life
by Tania WL
Are you a happy person? Are you happy everyday, most of the time? That certainly does not mean you never feel sad, angry, worried or any other negative emotions. Those are all part of life. In fact, the ups and downs make life more interesting and exciting, just like riding a roller coaster. :) But the important thing is you should be up more often than down. A lot more! When you're down you should do everything in your power to get back up. Believe it or not, being happy is the natural state of being. Life is meant to be enjoyed.
Studies have shown that being stressed or feeling negative in any way contributes to poor health. In fact, stress is the number one cause of most illnesses from minor aches and pains to the most serious ones such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer. So, happiness is essential to living a healthy and fulfilled life.
How can you be happy most of the time? There are several ways to achieve this. Here are 3 simple steps.
1. Have an attitude of gratitude.
Gratefulness is the number one key to happiness. This has been taught by virtually every personal development teacher. When your heart is grateful, it's impossible to feel negative. In fact, when you're feeling negative, the most powerful antidote is to try to find something to be grateful for at that moment, and there are plenty!
It doesn't have to be anything big. Just look around you for something you can appreciate. The warm sunshine, beautiful flowers, birds singing, even the air that you breathe. Those are simple things that most of us often take for granted.
My little sister Sharleen has always believed that life is magical ever since she was a kid. She has this amazing ability to see magic in the simplest and littlest things. I have learned a lot from her in that regard. She still amazes sometimes even today. It's no wonder that she is happy most of the time.
A good practice would be to write down a number of things you're grateful for in your life each and every day, and go over your list often. They can be anything either big or small. They can be people, animals, objects, or circumstances. Your family, your friends, your pets, the people you work with or those who help or provide service to you. The car that you drive or the bus that you ride on, your house or apartment, your computer and cell phone. Your job or school if you're a student like me, the promotion you just got or the test that you aced. Those are just a few examples. You can surely come up with a lot more!
2. Decide to be happy every time you wake up in the morning.
That's right! You decide what your day is going to be like, not other people or circumstances. This sets a positive tone for your entire day. Waking up feeling grouchy or worried about certain things or events sets a negative tone. Visualize in your mind how you would like the day to unfold. For instance, if you have an important meeting or an exam later in the day, just visualize the best possible outcome and believe it!
Sure, you will encounter challenges throughout the day like negative people, difficult situations or things just don't seem to go the way you want them. But again, don't let them have power over you. Your attitude will determine how you react to challenges. So, make it positive and you will live a happier life!
3. Move your body.
The human body is made to be active. In ancient times people had to hunt and perform other rigorous activities to gather food and defend themselves against wild animals and stuff, so their bodies were forced to move constantly. Today technology and modern conveniences make our lives so much easier, but consequentially our bodies move a lot less. Just like stress, living a sedentary lifestyle is bad for your health.
So you need to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Pick something that you enjoy doing so it adds to the joy of your day instead of becoming a chore. Sharleen and I both love karate. I also love yoga and swimming while she really likes gymnastics and basketball.
It doesn't matter what exercise you choose as long as you have fun doing it and it makes you feel alive. Some have even suggested that s e x is a good form of exercise, and that's something fun that almost everyone loves, right? Uh oh, what did I just say? Hope I won't get in trouble, haha!
There's a lot more we can add to the list of things you can do to maintain a high level of happiness throughout the day, but we don't want the post to be too long or you might get bored and not read the whole thing. So I'll stop here and let Sharleen continue with the next post. That will also give her something to do. :)
Update: check out her article on 5 Habits of Happy People.
Recommended book:
Watch this video of one of my favorite songs:
Have a wonderful day filled with joy!
Are you a happy person? Are you happy everyday, most of the time? That certainly does not mean you never feel sad, angry, worried or any other negative emotions. Those are all part of life. In fact, the ups and downs make life more interesting and exciting, just like riding a roller coaster. :) But the important thing is you should be up more often than down. A lot more! When you're down you should do everything in your power to get back up. Believe it or not, being happy is the natural state of being. Life is meant to be enjoyed.
Studies have shown that being stressed or feeling negative in any way contributes to poor health. In fact, stress is the number one cause of most illnesses from minor aches and pains to the most serious ones such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer. So, happiness is essential to living a healthy and fulfilled life.
How can you be happy most of the time? There are several ways to achieve this. Here are 3 simple steps.
1. Have an attitude of gratitude.Gratefulness is the number one key to happiness. This has been taught by virtually every personal development teacher. When your heart is grateful, it's impossible to feel negative. In fact, when you're feeling negative, the most powerful antidote is to try to find something to be grateful for at that moment, and there are plenty!
It doesn't have to be anything big. Just look around you for something you can appreciate. The warm sunshine, beautiful flowers, birds singing, even the air that you breathe. Those are simple things that most of us often take for granted.
My little sister Sharleen has always believed that life is magical ever since she was a kid. She has this amazing ability to see magic in the simplest and littlest things. I have learned a lot from her in that regard. She still amazes sometimes even today. It's no wonder that she is happy most of the time.
A good practice would be to write down a number of things you're grateful for in your life each and every day, and go over your list often. They can be anything either big or small. They can be people, animals, objects, or circumstances. Your family, your friends, your pets, the people you work with or those who help or provide service to you. The car that you drive or the bus that you ride on, your house or apartment, your computer and cell phone. Your job or school if you're a student like me, the promotion you just got or the test that you aced. Those are just a few examples. You can surely come up with a lot more!
2. Decide to be happy every time you wake up in the morning.
That's right! You decide what your day is going to be like, not other people or circumstances. This sets a positive tone for your entire day. Waking up feeling grouchy or worried about certain things or events sets a negative tone. Visualize in your mind how you would like the day to unfold. For instance, if you have an important meeting or an exam later in the day, just visualize the best possible outcome and believe it!
Sure, you will encounter challenges throughout the day like negative people, difficult situations or things just don't seem to go the way you want them. But again, don't let them have power over you. Your attitude will determine how you react to challenges. So, make it positive and you will live a happier life!
3. Move your body.
The human body is made to be active. In ancient times people had to hunt and perform other rigorous activities to gather food and defend themselves against wild animals and stuff, so their bodies were forced to move constantly. Today technology and modern conveniences make our lives so much easier, but consequentially our bodies move a lot less. Just like stress, living a sedentary lifestyle is bad for your health.
So you need to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Pick something that you enjoy doing so it adds to the joy of your day instead of becoming a chore. Sharleen and I both love karate. I also love yoga and swimming while she really likes gymnastics and basketball.
It doesn't matter what exercise you choose as long as you have fun doing it and it makes you feel alive. Some have even suggested that s e x is a good form of exercise, and that's something fun that almost everyone loves, right? Uh oh, what did I just say? Hope I won't get in trouble, haha!
There's a lot more we can add to the list of things you can do to maintain a high level of happiness throughout the day, but we don't want the post to be too long or you might get bored and not read the whole thing. So I'll stop here and let Sharleen continue with the next post. That will also give her something to do. :)
Update: check out her article on 5 Habits of Happy People.
Recommended book:
Watch this video of one of my favorite songs:
Have a wonderful day filled with joy!
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