9 Steps on How to Be Happy: Simple Ideas for a Happier You will help you on your journey to a better life with simple ideas to guide you in the right direction.
If you’re looking for more ways to improve your life, 31 Simple Ways to Relieve Stress and 13 Ways to a More Peaceful Home will help you on your journey.
In today’s hectic times, I think we all need a reminder now and again about how to add a bit more magic to our lives. We end up putting everyone else’s needs first and tend to put ourselves last.
Some days it’s easier to smile. Things are running smoothly, the sun is shining, and traffic flows freely wherever you go.
Other times, things are piling up, nothing is going right, and long lines are testing your nerves.
Life is easier to navigate when you have a good foundation for yourself and your needs.
Verywellmind.com describes the true meaning of happiness as, “An emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. While happiness has many different definitions, it is often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction. … Happiness is generally linked to experiencing more positive feelings than negative.”
“Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up, I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.” – Kevyn Aucoin
Creating a Cozy Life Group
Since you found this article on How to be Happy, I’m guess you like all things cozy living. I created a Facebook Group called Creating a Cozy Life with over 76,000 like-minded souls.
It’s a group where we share recipes, pictures of things that leave you in awe, and ideas on how to make your life just a little bit more snug. Join here to be part of the virtual cozy cabin.
Here are the 9 Steps on How to be Happy:
1. Schedule you time
Doctor appointments, grocery shopping, teacher meetings, trips to the dry cleaners are all on your to-do list – but somehow scheduling some time for yourself never makes it to the list.
Start with putting yourself on the appointment calendar at least once a week. Give yourself an hour or more and do the thing you really want to do.
Is your deepest desire to write a novel? Join a writing group once a week. Do you love to be pampered? Schedule a massage or pedicure.
When you finally achieve scheduling yourself weekly, then work on setting aside a half hour for yourself daily.
2. Perfect Investing
We never know when the unexpected expenses of our lives are going to hit.
Whether a water heater breaks, a new medical bill, or even an unforeseen car repair, there are always things that will come up that has a negative financial impact.
Invest in you. You could lose everything, but can always begin again if you spend the money and time on education.
If you invest in enhancing your skills, you’re investing in your future. There’s no better bet to spend your money on than you.
When I first started blogging, I thought I would figure it all out myself. That was a mistake. If I had invested in courses, my learning curve would have been much shorter.
Believe in your dream. Believe in you.
3. Detox your life
Release those people in your life that no longer serve your best interests.
This idea is easier said than done. You make excuses like “I’ve known them my whole life,” or “they are friends with everyone I know.” Value yourself and cut the cord.
If you’re on the fence about someone, look at their actions and not their words towards you. This will make it much easier to do.
4. New tribe
If you completed the task above and detoxed yourself from unhappy relationships, it’s time to find a new tribe.
Finding new friends can be scary, especially if you’ve had the same ones forever. The best way to do this is to be present in environments that you love to be.
When I first started blogging, I took a course on improving my skills, and they had a Facebook group for everyone that bought the course to ask questions.
Pretty soon, I connected with a few like-minded people who were learning new ideas just like me. One of those online acquaintances turned into a friend that is one of my biggest supporters in life.
Jaymie is the perfect friend that I might have missed if I had hurried through the course and not interacted with the other students.
5. Simplify
Being busy all the time is not good. I know that first hand. But, when you have so much to do, it’s time to take stock and simplify your life.
Pretend like you’re moving across the country. Determine what you would keep and what you would let go. Let go of it now.
Make more room in your day for enjoying your home and your life.
6. Soothe
Add things to your surrounding that add to a happy environment. Someone I know didn’t like the way her office at work felt, so she brought in a fish tank, plants, and better lighting.
Before, she dreaded getting to her desk. Now with such a happy environment, she’s love how her office feels.
7. Forgive
You’ve been hurt. We all have been. It’s time to let it go.
How do I know this? Because I had to do some forgiving too. It can be difficult, but it must be done for you to truly be able to fly.
I’m so passionate about this topic; I wrote an entire blog post about it. You can find it here. This post is my favorite post I’ve written.
8. Listen
Your heart knows what it wants. It really does. You just have to have faith in yourself to bring its desires to life.
If something keeps tugging at you to do, you have to recognize that feeling will never go away until you take the risk. It’s uncomfortable and even scary…but you have to rise up and start living out your dreams.
9. Gratitude
This idea is a biggie and one idea I definitely haven’t mastered yet. I’m convinced that this attitude will completely transform your life.
At first, take baby steps by recognizing all the gifts in your life. When you’re washing dishes, give thanks for the food in your belly. As you’re cleaning dirty rugs, think about how grateful you are for your family and friends that step on them.
When you look for the good in your life, instead of what’s wrong – your life will be blessed beyond your wildest dreams.
We’ve reached the end of 9 Steps on How to be Happy. I hope you enjoyed it!
Let me know in the comments below how you’ve made your life happier.
Thanks for stopping by!
Jennifer | Contentment Questing
Friday 23rd of March 2018
Absolutely beautiful post. Loved the read and the overall feel of your blog! Now following you on Pinterest as well.
Kelly
Friday 23rd of March 2018
Hello Jennifer! Thank you so much...you made my night. Kelly