10 Simple Steps to a Happier You

Image by Joel Muniz from Unsplash

Gratitude, Health, & Happiness

Aristotle called happiness the foundation and goal of every human effort.

The bottom line is people value happiness. They want to be happy. They strive to be happy.

Life, work, and relationships are complex however, and people frequently don’t know which way to turn or where to begin in the pursuit of positive change. A sweeping overhaul of habits and mindset may sound great in theory, but small, incremental, change is what truly delivers.

The data is clear — small shifts lead to big and enduring rewards. Ready to be more content, happy, and fulfilled? Consider the ten shortcuts to happiness offered here:

1. Stop complaining.

There’s a difference between addressing issues or challenges or needs, and COMPLAINING. When we look for problems, focus on what’s not working, and flat-out complain, we’re wasting precious life. Where focus goes, energy flows. Appreciate what’s good, how lucky you are, and the blessings that abound everywhere.

2. Breath and greet the morning.

Studies demonstrate the benefits of intentional mornings and adopting practices that include exercise, sunshine, relaxed exchange with people and our environment, and unhurried time with ourselves. Default to gratitude every day, and take 60 seconds upon rising to breath, touch your toes, and say good morning to the world and the day to come.

3. Exercise daily.

Exercise is the single most effective, important mental health, longevity, and personal peace tool we have bar none. A well-crafted exercise program that aims at muscle mass, cardiovascular fitness, and flexibility is gold in your pocket that makes all the difference. The research data on the benefits of stretching, lifting, and daily cardio exertion is astounding. Cardio to the point of rigor, lifting and stretching five to six times a week correlates off the charts with improved attitude, outlook, quality of life, stress relief, and mental health.

4. Don’t do drama and don’t do bad days.

Perhaps a moment is frustrating, so let a moment be a moment. Spilling coffee on your jacket is one small piece of a bigger day. Even if you do have a bad day, don’t allow that energy to carry over. Running a company, pursuing goals, managing yourself, and attending to home and career can be hard and every day brings ups and downs, but having bad days is a choice. Recognize drama/noise/chaos, and step away. Adopt the maxims that you don’t do drama, and you don’t do bad days.

5. Recognize that a No is a Yes.

A polite, no-big-deal no without explanation allows you to say yes to your priorities. No is a yes to what you find meaningful. We convince ourselves that we don’t have time or shouldn’t invest in our essential selves, our mission, our North Star but in truth, we make time for what we truly value. Determine what you care to move toward, and say no to that which pulls you off course.

6. Donate or Toss three items a week.

Curating peace and calm involves decluttering the mind and the spaces where we reside and work. If making space seems daunting, dedicate a month or a quarter to donating or tossing three items every week. Then, refresh, repurpose, and care for what you decide to keep.

7. Make play & laughter part of your day.

We are naturally lovers of lightness, buoyancy, and fun. Not long after we’re born, we are laughing and playing. What to do? See what’s good. Seek what’s fun. It’s impossible to be curious and angry at the same time. Don’t waste your life in anger and frustration. Wonder about how things work, prioritize fun, and enjoy your life.

8. Adopt three small habits that positively serve you.

You are your habits and rituals and I am mine. Under pressure and in the midst of fatigue and dispiriting odds, we ALWAYS go back to our habits. Figure out three small habits you’ll incorporate into your day one at a time (each spread out by a week), starting today.

If you won’t start tomorrow, you won’t start today. The message is START.

You are your habits and rituals, so identify habits and rituals that serve you positively, remove all friction point between you and acting on the positive habits you’ve identified, and act.

9. Find a way, despite naysayers and fear.

You will have critiques and you can be afraid, but find a way to go ahead anyhow.

Nobody knows it all - we are all works in progress. The number one regret people cite at the end of life is that rather than exercise their own agency, they pursued a path or goals that society or others set for them.

Don’t wait. Make decisions about your direction, your compass point, and in small day-in and day-out consistent steps, move toward your thing whatever it may be.

10. Love people, individuality, and being alive.

For all of its ups and downs, life is good as goodness abounds. If you take time and actually look, there is beauty, strength, and caring to be found everywhere. If you don’t see beauty or kindness, do your best to BE beauty and kindness. Approach everyone you meet as an individual with a story to tell. Approach everything and everyone as opportunities to learn.

Happiness is an Activity

Image by Natalia Blauth from Unsplash+

Happiness said Aristotle, is an activity in which people engage. It is not a goal to be pursued in the traditional sense however, as chasing happiness paradoxically pushes happiness away.

While happiness is an important individual pursuit, research and life experience tell us that cultivating lightness and content within ourselves also leads to flourishing communities and societies. The bottom line is that people value and want happiness, and taking small incremental steps directed toward health and happiness often brings dependable and lasting results.