Psychologists have spent a lot of time studying what makes us happy (and what is not so effective).
Let's give them our "big thanks" for this and take some of their findings to ourselves.
The point is that "happiness" is not something that just happens to us, thanks to some external events or factors beyond our control. No, the level of happiness we feel largely "comes" from within each of us. In this article we will talk about how we can get rid of excessive pessimism and get on the path to a more joyful and interesting life.
Eight great tricks to help you become happy (and stay that way your whole life):
1) Stop the never-ending stream of negative thoughts
This peculiarity of our thinking-to see only the bad in everything-is inherent in our nature and has been honed by long evolution.
This excess of suspicion and mistrust has helped the "human race" survive and even become "kings of nature," without being the strongest or smartest living creatures on the planet.
But today, this distinction is incredibly stalling our ascent up the ladder of social success.
WHAT TO DO: Don't try to fight your negative thoughts. Instead, acknowledge their right to exist. To do this, for example, say to yourself, "Yes, I'm worried about money," "Yes, I have problems at work."
In doing so, you will remove the emotional background of what is happening, and then be able to find the best solution to the circumstances.
2) Controlled breathing
The practice of deep breathing helps to reduce anxiety, cope with insomnia, reduce the depth of post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.
Yogis have been using breathing (meditation) for centuries to increase tone and quickly "pump up" vitality.
WHAT TO DO: Try to breathe deeply into the uncomfortable situation you're in right now. This will help you abstract from it and "see the light" at the end of the dark tunnel.
3) Rewrite your "story"
Keeping a trivial diary (say, 5-10 minutes a day) significantly increases the level of happiness you feel - allowing you to "pour out" on paper the emotions that overwhelm us and resolve accumulated internal conflicts.
By writing and then carefully editing our own stories (the ones we tell ourselves about "our beloved self") we can dramatically change our self-perception (i.e. "adjust" our self-esteem) and clearly identify the obstacles that block our way to happiness and financial well-being.
To illustrate, here are a few examples of such "healing" self-stories:
- Was: "I'm a failure." Became: "I have had some success in my career. It's just one failure that won't affect my professional path in any way."
- Was: "I have a big problem with money." Became: "I have temporary money problems that are solved by applying financial literacy rules."
- Was: "I will never find love and my "other half. It became, "It's not worth cycling around looking for love. You need to focus on meeting new people and enjoying the process. And the rest will come with time.
4) Move
Right now, get up, put your smartphone aside, and get your "blood pumping in your veins" - any way you can currently access it.
Moderate physical activity quickly improves your mood, adds "sparkle to your eyes" and "powder to your powders."
5) Add more "sunshine" to your life
Do this both literally and figuratively.
First, get outdoors in the sunshine more often.
Second, find and ignite your own "inner ray" of sunshine.
- Excessive optimism does not mean to completely ignore the (bad) reality and (bad) circumstances of life.
- An optimist never feels defeated and sees what is happening as a new challenge: "Yes, it will be difficult, but it is possible.
By the way, optimism, as well as pessimism, is very "contagious.
So try to communicate more with optimistic people.
They will warm you up with their "inner sun.
6) Find meaning in your work
We often complain about our work, yet it plays an extremely important role in our lives and the Happiness we feel.
Ideally, we should find a job that is "uplifting" and has tremendous meaning for us.
WHAT TO DO: Even the most down-to-earth job gives us the opportunity to feed our children and provides a roof over our heads. For that alone, we should be grateful for it - and stop scolding it (alternatively, engage in an active search for a more inspiring job).
7) Give yourself the gift of time
Spend some money to buy yourself "some time.
People who periodically "buy" themselves time are orders of magnitude happier than those who haven't.
As an option, here's what will allow you to "buy" yourself some time: order a delicious meal with delivery, use a cab, call for cleaning services, etc. services that "replace" your own efforts.
8) Treat yourself as a friend
This is probably the most important thing of all!
Respect yourself. Appreciate yourself. Love yourself.
And spoil yourself regularly.
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