From Prevent Disease
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Albert Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Well, doing the same things everyday but with a slightly different approach is actually the key to happiness. Start bringing those changes in your attitude towards life and you’ll see how simple it is to be happy.
Here are 15 significant attitudes that help you become happier in life.
1. Gratitude
Appreciate what you have and value it. Try counting your positives and be grateful for all the good things and people in your life. Stop complaining and be thankful for what you already have and you’ll soon start feeling happy.
2. Stop Labeling
Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open.
3. Optimism
Treat failure as an opportunity to learn a new and better lesson from life, and that’s the trick to manufacture optimism in life. Never give up trying because that’s an indication that something better is in store. Once you start harbouring an optimistic attitude towards life, success will automatically follow.
4. Release The Past
The past you are now longing for — the past that you are now dreaming about — was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now. Work on this by practicing with simple tasks every day. For example, when you cut the grass, just think about the grass and nothing else. When you’re washing the dishing, immerse your full presence in dish washing. Eventually, your life will revolve around your day today, not yesterday.
5. Avoid comparison
Nothing is as awful as comparing yourself to someone else. If you think you’re better that the other person, you’re letting yourself regale in an unhealthy sense of superiority. If you demean yourself in front of others, it means all your hard work and progress has been in vain. While social comparisons are unhealthy, self-improvement is effective.
6. Kindness
There’s a scientific reason behind every act of kindness that you do. Helping someone selflessly releases serotonin in your brain (Serotonin is the hormone that controls your mood) and hence makes you feel good about yourself almost instantly. Try doing one act of kindness everyday to flush out the toxins of depression from your system.
7. Stop Using Excuses
Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses — excuses that most of the time are not even real. We sabotage ourselves beyond belief. If you find yourself making excuses, ask yourself why you are creating the excuse in the first place?
8. Nurture Relationships
Relationships keep us alive and kicking. In fact, according to research studies loneliness doubles people’s mortality rates. A circle of good friends, loving family members and cheerful colleagues are a reminder that you have people who care about you. There’s nothing like having someone who you can share your experiences with. So nurture these relationships and say goodbye to a lonesome existence.
9. Forgiveness
Hatred is a negative feeling and harbouring it will have nothing but negative effects on your well-being. Stop thinking about the hateful emotion/person and let it go. Forgive if needed, take things lightly and let it not affect your system.
10. Avoid Impressing Others
Success may have nothing to do with how much money you have or how many cars you have, but how you choose to live a life of abundance which comes in many forms, many of which have nothing to do with material things. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take off all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.
11. Commit To Your Goals
If you have a goal, work towards it. Anything is achievable if you put your heart into it. Wholehearted dedication and diligence can bring extraordinary results and consequentially add to your happiness. It is very easy to lose vision for what we truly want in life, but it is your dedication towars your goals above and beyond all obstacles that will make the difference.
12. Care For Your body
Love yourself and love your body! Your physical condition has a direct connection with your well-being. A fit body and healthy mind is reflective of happiness. Start working towards the health of your physical, mental and emotional energy by caring for your body.
13. Believe
Connect to a higher power. You’re probably already doing this with or without knowing. Just a quick meditation or prayer is easy. If you have the time, join a local prayer group, visit a meditation center, or simply spend some time alone in nature. People who believe in a deity are generally happier than those who don’t. Sometimes all you need to be happier is a little faith!
14. Dream
Imagination fires motivation. Create a dream board and dream up something new you wish to experience. It could be finding a new lover, climbing a mountain, learning calligraphy, or going back to college. Dreams motivate, inspire and expand our sense of self. They also make us happy because they give our lives a sense of purpose. Happy people usually love what what they do, and if they don’t, they love who they are. Dreams remind us who we are.
15. Give
Cultivate a habit of sharing with others — your money, knowledge, service, wisdom, care, love. Find a person who shares a lot with others, and you will find a happy person. In giving, you always receive more. Not only do you get pleasure from giving, you give someone else pleasure. Giving has many unexpected benefits from attracting more happiness into your life, to inspiring others, and changing the lives of those you touch. In the end the whole world is made into a better place. Ask, “how can I serve?” Pay it forward. Give freely.
