When was the last time you grinned like an elf from ear to ear? Do you remember laughing so hard that your stomach hurt? Or falling off your chair doubled up with laughter at the antics of a goofy friend or a loved one? Do you remember going to bed and falling asleep like a baby smiling in your sleep, dreaming about your favorite football team winning or the Indian cricket team lifting the World Cup?
Has ennui soaked the life and joy out of your soul? If you feel that happiness hasn’t graced your heart and soul for a while, let’s fix that, shall we?! Happy people have one thing in common; the key to emotional well-being and good health. Of course, the definition of happiness may vary from person to person. Still, the joy of genuinely feeling happy from within is ethereal and goes beyond the boundaries of caste, age, gender, race, sexual orientation, and other man-made boundaries.
Let’s look at some of the best ways to increase happiness in daily life and sail through difficult times, like Santa ho-hoing his way to our chimneys!
1. Start Meditating
No, we are not asking you to turn into a yogi! Just a few moments of peace with yourself at any moment of the day where you can exist, breathe and be yourself—activating the Zen mode is no rocket science, even if the mind is like a monkey on hot bricks. So let the mind wander as you observe the world functioning and people going about their lives.
While many believe that mindfulness meditation involves sitting rooted in a spot and trying to control your thoughts, it is a way of life. We are all way too familiar with the feeling of tensed-up shoulder muscles, balled-up fists, and tongues, ready to spew cuss words at the bike rider who dared to scratch our precious car while zipping past us on some imaginary Grand Prix race.
Stress is as much a reality as increasing age, and instead of burning out our frazzled nerves in an attempt to put out an ever-raging onslaught of stressors, it makes sense to retreat, breathe and repeat.
The next time someone or something activates your Hulk mode, remember no one or no situation is worth losing your mental peace over. You always have a choice to take the highway and deal with negativity and challenging times in a less stress-inducing way!
A calm mind expedited by deep breathing and slow, deliberate inhales and exhales gives your nervous system a chance to relax, rewire and think of better ways to solve problems. The next time you feel like a deluge of negative emotions crippling your ability to function, let alone make suitable decisions, practice some self-compassion and try the following steps:
- Take a moment, close your eyes, and return to your favorite memory, good moments spent with loved ones, or a happy place.
- Take a deep breath in slowly and deliberately. Then, exhale at an equally slow pace.
- Repeat the process until you feel truly calm and relaxed.
Now that sounds doable enough? Try counting from ten to one if you cannot induce slow breathing. Then, give yourself a warm hug, and remember this is a phase, and you just need to allow it to pass.
2. Practice Positive Thinking
Are you wondering what positive thinking can do to enhance happiness in hard times? Well, technically, it can have a profound effect on rewiring your thought pattern in the brain. Let’s see how a small change can lead to a good mood and better health. Take a moment and extricate half an hour from your schedule. Sit with a pen and a diary and make notes. Write down everything, every smell, every experience that brings a smile to your face. Whether it is the last time you laughed with your best friend about something super silly or that little litter of puppies in your neighborhood that wag their adorable tails at you every time you bring them something to eat, pen it down in your gratitude journal.
The next time feelings of negativity or no hope plague you, take a long hard look at the list, and something is bound to make you smile again. Did we mention that you should treat yourself to a rose or two and keep it within the leaves of your journal? As you keep reinforcing the loop of positivity and joy in the little things, you will ultimately break the spiral of sadness and hopelessness. And if you need a little help, remember there are always trained therapists to help you embrace the sunshine again and live a happier life!
3. Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Rest
The body and mind need rest, and so does your soul. If you wake up every morning in a fog, trying to fit everything on your to-do list before you leave for work, your body might be screaming for help. Likewise, the inability to concentrate on the chore at hand slowed decision-making could be a result of inadequate rest. If you are anywhere in the age group of 18-60, you need quality and undisturbed sleep of seven hours or more per night.
A good night’s sleep can lower the risk of chronic illnesses such as depression, heart disease, and diabetes. So if you don’t remember the last time you slept well and woke up feeling recharged with positive emotions, sleep deprivation could be the culprit. It’s time to set a new bedtime routine, folks! Maybe invest in a new comforter, a good mattress, and plush pillows! Also, reduce screen time before bed, and ensure you have at least an hour of silent reflection or soothing reading before hitting the sack. And if that doesn’t work, who says you cannot put glow-in-the-dark stars and planets on your ceiling?
4. Focus on a Healthier Diet
While we are all well-versed in the correlation between physical health and our dietary choices, it can come off as a piece of good news to many that certain food items can also affect one’s state of mind and long-term overall happiness. Let’s delve into what to dig into and what to say no to when you are battling the blues!
Say yes to:
- Omega-3-enriched fatty fish such as salmon and albacore tuna
- A couple of squares of 70% dark chocolate
- Bananas (boost serotonin production)
- Oats
- Berries
- Seeds & Nuts
- Pineapples
- Tofu
- Cheese
Say a big no to:
- Alcoholic beverages
- Sugary foods
- Refined & processed foods
- Deep fried dishes
There is a strong correlation between food, mood, and brain health. A balanced diet is a perfect way to ensure holistic wellness. So the next time someone offers you a plate of fried fritters, you know which way to sway your head!
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5. Express Gratitude
When practiced and expressed from the heart, gratitude can promote a sense of well-being and inner peace and is the single most effective way to experience a greater sense of true happiness. You might be going about your chores with a fake smile plastered on your face, but your eyes tell a different story. We understand and empathize. The scars that you hide beneath the armor you wear so well can only heal with love, therapy, and gratitude. Give your beautiful heart and soul a chance, and embrace the warm sunshine with open arms. Feel the warmth soak into your palms and tingle your nerves as they thaw away the ice of grief and sorrow.
Most of us realize pretty late in life that it is always the little things that matter, like; your basic needs being looked after, your mother packing warm lunch for you at school or work, your father ensuring that your shoes are polished and in good shape before school, your sister ironing your uniform or even the milk delivery guy on his famous “Rajdoot” motorcycle letting everyone in the colony know that fresh milk is ready to be poured into tea and kid’s bottles! This can also replace the feeling of boredom with childlike wonder and give you more reasons to smile. Good things come to those who try to give back as much as possible to society.
6. Spend Time in Nature
There is a reason why nature is referred to as “mother.” Much like a nap in your mom’s lap cures heartaches or at least erases the seemingly indelible marks of life’s hard times, mother nature works its magic on all of us sentient beings. A weekend trip in the mountains can soothe your troubled heart when city life sucks the joie de vivre out of you. Whether you are a beach person or a mountain person, there is something out there for everyone, and sunshine is still free!
A walk in the park watching the senior citizens “hoo-haa-ing” their way out of the peace of the morning can make the saddest soul smile just a teeny-weeny bit. One should spend at least thirty minutes in green spaces resulting in reduced chances of developing symptoms of depression and lower blood pressure. You could also add a mix of aerobic exercises to your outdoor sojourn and enjoy increased energy levels and enhanced life satisfaction!
7. Avoid Being a Perfectionist
Perfectionism might be what gets you up and going, but you have got to realize at some point that it has the potential to become a double-edged sword. This can trigger anxiety when you cannot meet the goals you have set for yourself within the given timeline.
One way to manage this is not to miss the woods for the trees. Simply put, look at the bigger picture and focus on what’s most important. If you are sweating over the little details of a presentation, ask yourself one question, “would this make an impact on the pitch to the client?”. If the answer is no, a good way to break the cycle of perfectionism that drains your energy is to call it a day and chill with your loved ones over tea and biscuits.
8. Work on Things You Are Passionate About
If you do what you love, you will technically not work a single day! Sounds fun?! Hell yes! So pick up that paintbrush, calligraphy pen, or that gardening spade and get your hands dirty doing what you love.
9. Celebrate Every Win, Big or Small
Did you manage to get out of bed on a Monday after a long weekend and reach work on time? Treat yourself to ice cream, then!
Every win, whether big or small, deserves, and we reiterate, absolutely deserves to be celebrated. And who gets to decide whether the occasion calls for a celebration? The person in the mirror!!. Who else? It’s’ your life; go live it large!
10. Help Others
Well, this may sound cliche and straight out of a moral science book, but guess what? Helping someone feels good and is an excellent way to feel happy from within. We often dismiss the voice of conscience as a cloud of gloom, and distrust looms large over our tired and cheated souls.
But in the end, we have got to realize that no one is coming to save our souls, and we have to light that lamp to dispel that engulfing darkness. When you see that old lady selling pens on the roadside, buy one from her or maybe two. Who knows, fate might just pull one on us in old age, and we might find ourselves in her shoes. Even if you don’t believe in karma, try helping that sister on the road with a warm shawl you no longer need. Both of you will sleep better that night. Random acts of kindness set the wheel in motion and spell greater happiness for both parties.
Get Started With a Trusted Therapist on DocVita Today
Even though we are responsible for finding our happiness, it’s absolutely okay to seek help from a trusted therapist who can warm us up in the journey and help us light the lamp within. Connect with empathetic, kind, and experienced mental health professionals on DocVita today and get yourself or a family member the helping hand they deserve. Give yourself that chance to heal and to be the best and the happiest version of yourself. You are worthy of it, my friend!