Discover ways to increase happiness and learn how to do them
Are you, like many people, chasing external goals in an attempt to be happy? Success, wealth, fame, power and good looks are all commonly sought after by human beings. But are they really the keys to happiness?
The idea that happiness is a choice may seem counterintuitive to some people. Although our genetics and life circumstances play a role in our level of happiness, you can take steps to increase your enjoyment of life. Happiness is not something you can snap your fingers and decide upon; however, if you bring consciousness, gratitude and even frivolity to your day, you’ll likely feel happier. The bulk of what determines happiness is due to personality traits that are within your control through conscious thought and behavior changes.
Research shows that we’re happier when we spend time with others, rather than when we’re alone. That means that instead of writing gratitude lists or escaping away to do a mindfulness meditation, we might be better off building our happiness in ways that are social–by making happy moments with others. Read on to discover four ways to create true happiness by making happy moments. (You can also take this happiness quiz to get a sense of how happy you are currently).
Make Happy Moments Online
Technology allows us to connect with others, even when we’re apart. Such as, sending messages and sharing photos, which helps us feel supported as we work toward happiness. Communicating with friends and family by phone, email or social media to express gratitude or spread kindness. We can join groups that make a difference in the world or offer advice to people who need it. And we can recruit our friends to do fun activities that make us happy!
Write Snail Mail to Create Moments of Connection
I love receiving hand-written notes and cards. I get giddy when I see handwriting on an envelope or postcard. When a friend or distant family member writes to me, it makes me really happy. Just the act of physically writing a letter to someone shows love. It shows them you took the time to think of them. It is a lost art, sending a physical letter or postcard can create true happiness.
Write letters or postcards to people who live far away, and encourage them to do the same. This practice can generate small moments of joy and connection. Make it a habit to send birthday cards, Christmas cards, congratulations cards for events–and don’t forget to let them know you’d love to hear from them too!.
Volunteer With Your Friends to Create Happy Moments
We want to make positive impacts in the world, but we’re not sure how. It will probably be boring, we think. But that may not be true. I once volunteered to direct riders in a bicycle race, but it was painful work–painful because it was boring. But other times when I have volunteered to clear out weeds with at-risk youth or clean out the waste from animals at farms. Those tasks became special happy moments because I did them with others who cared about making a difference in our world. So see if you can get a group of friends together to do something good for the world so that you can create special happy moments too!
Laugh Together to Create Happy Moments
Our happiest moments often include laughter. We can create happy moments by finding reasons to laugh. Maybe we choose to go to see a funny movie. Or maybe we choose to go to a comedy show. Or, maybe we just try to make our friends laugh by not taking ourselves too seriously. Whatever approach we take, laughter can turn any moment, no matter how mundane, into a happy moment. It is when
our lives are made up of these many happy moments that we experience true happiness.
What will you do to create your true happiness?
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