Choosing to Be Happy

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No doubt, you’ve probably spent countless hours and days waiting for that thing that’s going to make you happy. But here’s the gist: happiness is something you choose to be, not something that happens to you. Yes, there are moments or people, which can make you momentarily happy; however, when you get up in the morning it will ultimately be up to you whether you spend the day in high spirits or miserable.

5 Ways You Can Choose to Be Happy Every Day

Stop Comparing Yourself to Other People

Each day, you should strive to be the best version of yourself that you can be. Set goals and try to accomplish them or push yourself to learn something new. Comparing yourself to other people is pointless and can unnecessarily make you feel like you aren’t living up to your potential. If you absolutely must compare yourself to anyone, it should only ever be an earlier version of yourself. Think about where you were a month or year ago and think about all of the changes you’ve implemented and accomplishments you’ve made to become a better person.

Surround Yourself with the Right People

It’s true that who you surround yourself with can impact who you are. Be diligent about only letting people into your inner circle who are kind, respectful, generally positive, and push you to be the person you want to be. When you are constantly around negative people, they can slowly suck the happiness out of you until you are stuck in the same frame of mind as them.

Start with a Good Attitude

We’re not all morning people, but that doesn’t mean we have to start the day thinking everything is going to be horrible. Even if you don’t know it yet, pretend the day is going to be a great one. Then do yourself a favor and smile. Even if no one is around and you’re just smiling at yourself in the mirror. There has been a ton of research that shows when you act happy it tricks the brain into sending out endorphins. Then you really will be happy. You can add to this feeling by doing other things first thing in the morning that are known to make you content, like listening to music or opening the blinds to let some sunshine in.

Love Your Body

How you mentally feel has a lot to do with your physical well-being. Putting the time and effort into eating healthy and getting regular physical exercise can boost your mental energy and make you feel more emotionally stable. If you are clinically depressed, it can be very hard to motivate yourself to get up and be active, but numerous researchers have found that daily exercise is often the best way to resolve many types of depression — quite often even without the aid of antidepressants.

To forgo completely changing your physical habits and diet only to burn out in a week, try setting daily goals to slowly build up your health regime. For instance, today you might try to eat three servings of vegetables and go for a five- to ten-minute walk. Tomorrow, maybe drink one less sugary soda and add a few lunges during your walk.

Linger on Positive Moments

Your brain is often hardwired to absorb and hold on tightly to negative experiences. This “negative bias” and the strong reactions you often have when something upsetting occurs is what causes bad memories to be so much stronger than many of positive ones. To try and counter this effect, it is good to spend time appreciating positive moments when they happen. Take 10 to 20 seconds and just bask in the feeling after noticing or having good things happen to you. You’ll soon notice you have more positive memories to think fondly over, and you’ll also have a stronger appreciation for how many good things happen to you each and every day.


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Posted in Mental Health on Jan 29, 2018

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