5 Strategies to become Happier

If you’d like to become happier, here are 5 things to try: 

Positive Interactions

One of the key behaviours that we can change, to make us happier is positive interactions or social connections if you like. Every available study of happy people suggests that happy people are more social. They physically spend time around other people, and they tend to really prioritize time with their friends and family members. Our lack of social connection really comes from the fact that we have this strong intuition that it kind of doesn’t matter, but actually it does. 

Acts of kindness

Another thing that we can do to become happier is acts of kindness to others. This behaviour we know really affects our happiness, doing nice things for other people, trying to become a little bit more focused on others. We often think that self-care is the path to happiness, but the evidence really suggests that happy people are much more focused on others. They’re donating more money to charity. They’re spending their time volunteering for others. They give more compliments.

Change our thought patterns – Positive Thoughts

Another way that we can improve our happiness is to change our thought patterns. Do we have a mindset of paying attention to all the negative things, all the hassles in life? Or do we have a mindset that focuses more on the good things? Lots of evidence suggests that happy people focus on the good things. If you tend not to do that naturally, you can change that thought pattern. One fantastic way to do this is simply to just write down three to five things you’re grateful for every night. And this practice can quickly improve your well-being.

Mindfulness, being present and savouring the good things

Another thought pattern that we can change to feel happier is paying attention to the good stuff in life. One of the reasons our good circumstances don’t necessarily lead to happiness is we tend not to notice them. We’ll buy a delicious latte that we should be paying attention to and savouring and really enjoying, but we just kind of chug it while we’re checking our email. The act of savouring is moving towards paying attention to the good things in life a little bit more.

Positive Actions – Move more

A final way we can become happier, is to change our behaviour in terms of moving more and exercising, and get our bodies moving.  We often forget that our bodies are connected to our minds. And that means that a really quick way to change how we’re feeling emotionally is simply moving our body a little bit more. Exercise is intricately connected to our mental health, and it’s important to note that this isn’t like running a marathon. This is simply just getting your body to move around a little bit more. Even as much as like 20 minutes a day can really improve your well-being. Not even that, just by changing your posture you can change your emotions, sit / stand tall, shoulders back, reach your arms up high and you’ll naturally feel more confident. Get up on your feet and move around / jump around, and get yourself pumped up and you’ll feel more motivated. 

I hope you find this article helpful. And give this 5 changes a try, and see how they make you feel happier.