1. Work With Your Hands
Garden. Build something. Cook dinner. Any sort of manual labor can improve your level of happiness.
2. Practice “Taking in the Good”
Avoid focusing on the negative and actually receive the good that exists in your life. Taking a moment to reflect on positive experiences as they occur builds neural networks that later help us be more resilient, or confident, or happy.
3. Help Others
Lend a hand to someone close to you, even when you’re busy. Seeing a need, even a small one, and meeting it, will make you happier.
4. Stop Caring About What Others Think
You can’t make them happy, and trying to will drain your own happiness.
5. Let Go of Perfection
Let go of perfection, in all areas of your life. You are worthy now. You don't have to wait until you've reached the perfect weight, or the perfect career or the perfect frugal lifestyle to know that.
6. Become Calm
Grow in mindfulness and the inner calm that goes with it. This takes discipline but pays off when the practice becomes second nature.
7. Hold the Small Things
Embrace life’s small pleasures, rather than holding out for big ones. Even the smallest pleasures can raise your happiness significantly.
8. Write It Down
Keep a daily list of the things you’re thankful for. You can even share your list with others. Writing things down makes them real to our brains, so this practice solidifies your happiness.
9. Guzzle H2O
Drink plenty of water. Hydration improves mood.
10. Disconnect
Get off Facebook, and interact with people in real life. People who spend more time on Facebook are not as happy as those who interact off of it.
11. Fake It ’til You Make It
Put a smile on that face. The effects are modest, but a simple smile actually can improve your mood.
12. Embrace the Great Outdoors
Spend more time outside. Fresh air, sunshine, and the great outdoors will do you a world of good.
13. Stop Whining!
Cease with the whining, already! Whining is negative, and negativity leads to unhappiness. Whining doesn’t only make you unhappy, but brings down those around you, too.
14. Hold Your Tongue
Don’t express your anger. Venting anger makes you feel worse, not better.
15. Use Your Time Well
Make time for the things that make you happy. If it makes you happy, it is worth finding the time to do.
Winfrey, Sarah. "29 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Happier This Year." Wise Bread, 23 Jan. 2014, wisebread.com/29-scientifically-proven-ways-to-be-happier-this-year. Accessed 23 Feb. 2020.
Come back to our blog next week to see the remaining steps to becoming a happier you!
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