Some people seem to enjoy life just a little bit more than the rest of us. They leap into their day exuding happiness, their joyous smiles saturating the world with their jocularity. They energetically expect the best of the world, and you can tell by their deep and constant enthusiasm. It may seem puzzling when you compare them to yourself.
These happy people have found the secret: Happiness is both a state of mind and a state of heart. If your heart is happy joy will fill your life and you will greet the world brightly and exuberantly.
Most people have lives that are filled with highs and lows. What do the constantly happy people have that others don’t? It is hard to define, but here are a few things to consider as you harness your happiness.
With a smile and a song
Remember as child how you could joyously sing or prattle to yourself endlessly? That child is still with in you. You can bring them out by singing. Pick a happy song and let yourself go.
Celebrate the day
Acknowledge the little things that happen over the course of the day by seeing the little joys and gifts each day brings. Start noticing the good all-around you and celebrate each one. Someone saying thank you should be celebrated. A particularly satisfying meal is a celebration in and of itself. As you begin to celebrate the small things, your happiness will grow.
Stop criticizing yourself
For every happy inner child, there is also a curmudgeonly critic to balance them out. Don’t let this critic blow out the flame of your happiness. Actively turn away negative thoughts. This will take some practice because an annoying fact of life is that it is easier to accept the bad things about ourselves than it is to hear the good.
Keep a happy thought
You can make yourself happy by ignoring the negative and focusing on the happy things. As you did with your gratitude practice, work at finding the things and thoughts that make you happy. It could be the simple beauty around you or reading a passage from a favorite book. As you handle your responsibilities, think about the people you are caring for.
Speak joyously
Expose yourself to good and interesting things. Feed your heart with happy things. Not everyone can do this; and it’s important to talk things through, but work on balancing the bad news with the good.
Turn challenges into opportunities
If you are faced with a problem, don’t let it rob you of your joy. Instead, look at is a puzzle or game that you can solve. Your challenge can become an opportunity for success.
Active happiness
If there is a particular activity that you enjoy, make it a regular practice. Find time to do things that bring you great joy. Too often we let ourselves become burdened by our “have to’s” and we don’t focus on the “get to’s”
Once you get used to finding time for our happiness, you will feel the joy within you rise.
Consider your surroundings
Spend some time with the joyous people in your life. A cheerful attitude is contagious. Once you begin to see the joy in others, you will be able to match it yourself. This may mean you need to excise the negative folk out of your life.
Distribute happiness
Nothing can make you happier than giving others joy. Do something nice for someone. It can be something as simple as holding the door for someone or paying for someone else’s coffee. Knowing that you have brought joy to someone will, in turn, make you happy. This is the secret that truly happy people know.