“There are very few things you need to live a happy life. It’s all in yourself, in the way you think.”
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
“If you want to be happy for an hour, take a nap.”
If you want to spend the day happily, go fishing.
If you want to be happy for a year, inherit your property.
If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, help others. “
chinese proverb
“When the door of happiness closes, another door opens. But we often stare at the closed door so long that we cannot see the open door.”
Helen Keller
Happiness does not always come from big events and happenings. It can come from small daily habits.
So today I want to share with you three simple tips and habits that can help you live a happier life.
1. Start by setting the bar for happiness low.
When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself, “I’m going to set the bar low for happiness today.”
If you tell yourself this and try to keep it in mind throughout the day, you will be more appreciative of things.
The food, the work, the weather, and the little things that happened during the day become things that make you happy.
I now often stop for a second or two and appreciate the small things, or the things that might seem obvious.
But does being satisfied with the small things in our daily lives discourage us from striving for bigger things?
Not in my experience.
When you view your life this way, you will have more energy and inspiration, your life will be brighter, and you will have less inner resistance as you explore and tackle the small and the big.
I encourage you to try this out and see how it works.
And having reminders on your phone or on paper helps keep that low hurdle in the back of your mind.
2. Help someone.
Helping someone is one of the simplest things you can do to live a happy life, but it’s also one of the most powerful things you can do.
How can I help someone? By giving value in some way.
Here are some ideas on how to do that.
Provides hands-on help.
For example, work, moving house, preparing dinner, etc.
give good advice.
People don’t always ask for advice, but when asked, give your best advice based on your experience.
hug.
The comfort of one or more hugs can make the other person’s situation at least a little better.
encourage someone
There is much to be discouraged in the world. So instead be the exception and encourage people to believe in themselves and what they want to do.
just listen.
Sometimes people don’t ask for help. They just want to vent, or have someone to listen to as they figure things out and release their pent-up emotions.
It may not seem like much, but it can be a huge help to those who need it. So be completely there and don’t sit there and think about anything else and listen.
Put things in perspective.
It’s easy to get into trouble and build mountains out of molehills. But you can help it by adding your perspective.
The two of you can talk about it, laugh about it, and even find hidden opportunities in problems that might have seemed like falling skies in one’s head. .
And don’t forget to pat yourself on the back and thank yourself for helping someone. Do not brush it off or make it smaller than it actually is.
Pause for a moment and quietly reflect on how you have done good.
3. Be kind to yourself.
Being kind to yourself helps people a lot healthy self-esteem and to live a happier life.
Of course, there are many ways to be kinder to yourself, but here are three that I’ve found to be effective.
Change your opinion to be kind and constructive.
Destructive messages from people around you, or from people far away in the media, advertising, and society at large, won’t help you be kind to yourself.
So, gradually replace it with other daily and weekly inputs.
It could be the encouragement of a friend or family member, or help from someone close to you in your current situation.
It could be a practical self-help book or blog that helps you find practical solutions to the challenges you face or the goals you want to achieve.
Alternatively, spend more time in silence in nature to relax and recharge.
Compare yourself to yourself.
Comparing what you have and your results to what others have and have achieved can seriously undermine your motivation and keep your self-esteem at a low level.
There are always people ahead of you.
So focus on you.
about what you have achieved. And I will also explain how I could have improved the results and how I could have improved them.
This is important because it gives you great motivation to see how much you’ve improved and how far you’ve come.
take a break
Sometimes I hear that we should always be positive, always winning, and striving for our goals. That might sound inspiring in theory.
But reality is neither ideal nor perfect, nor are you and me.
Life gets in the way sometimes. You may get in the way in your own way. Or you may simply not have the energy, courage or time to do anything.
that’s ok.
Choose to set a human standard for yourself instead of trying to follow the image of perfection that other people and you impose.
When things don’t go your way, choose to give yourself a break and give yourself a little less leeway.
