How to be happy british council

How to Be Happy Again

Finding New Ways to Be Happy

Candis McDow is from Atlanta, GA, and has been a mental health advocate since 2014. She has lived experience and charges to bring awareness to the oblivious and provide hope to peers.

Klaus Vedfelt / Getty Images

What does it mean to be happy? There are so many ideas and perspectives when it comes to being happy. By definition happy means characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy.

Truthfully, Your ‘happy’ is whatever it means to you. Of course, not everyone will agree, but that is to be expected because no two people are alike.

Have you been generally feeling down about things lately? What has caused that change? As you may have heard before, getting to the root of an issue will pinpoint the problem and ultimately tell you where you need to start working towards change.

The best way to do that is to compare and contrast; that’s right, just like we did in elementary school. This article will help you figure out what could be preventing you from finding happiness and provides tips for cultivating your version of happiness.

A Comparison List to Find What’s Blocking Your Happy

Before you embark on your happiness journey, it’s helpful to list what makes you happy and what doesn’t. After you make this list, you’ll better understand what you need to work on to bring more happiness and peace to your life.

Below is an example of a list, yours can, of course, look different from this one. This is just to help you get started.

A good support system

Mental health recognition

Passion for life

Less social media

Comparing myself to others

No personal days

Mental health avoidance/denial

Too much social media

Self-doubt and shame

Now that you have your list, what are you going to do with it? Review it and take a trip down memory lane. Try and track back to happier times in your life. When were you your happiest in life? Channel those moments and see if you can find that part of you again.

You may not be able to recreate those moments, but you can at least get inspired by them. Happiness comes in layers. And you may find that you’d like to explore newer options that bring you happiness, which is completely fine.

If you take a close look at the right side of your list, you’ll see what you need to eliminate from your life to feel happier.

Is shame holding you back? Do you feel overwhelmed or alone? Are you having trouble loving the way you look? If any of these things ring true for you, it’s time to address those negative feelings so you can work past them.

A therapist or other professional can help you address these roadblocks and provide you with tools that can help you overcome them.

Ways to Find a New Happy

There are so many avenues to explore in regards to finding new happiness. Below you’ll find some tips to help you find your idea of happiness.

Find a New Hobby

When it comes to hobbies, the possibilities are endless. And the best part is, it’s entirely up to you.

You can be as adventurous, creative, mysterious, or outgoing as you want. You can try out a new hobby alone or with friends.

According to Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS, a licensed psychologist, «It [hobbies] can serve as a fun distraction, but it also helps decrease stress and puts our focus on something fun and different. The key is to find something that will do just that for you.»

Put Yourself First

As simple as it may seem, a lot of people forget to take care of themselves. Whether it’s because of a busy work schedule, marriage, kids, family, pets, and friends, many people, specifically women, get little to no self-care.

When you put yourself first, your happiness will shine through for sure.

Taking time out for yourself daily can impact your mood, stress level, concentration, and productivity. Allowing yourself a moment to recharge not only allows you to be your best self but opens a window of opportunity to lend help to others.

Press Play for Advice On Being Yourself

Hosted by Editor-in-Chief and therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast, featuring TV personality Craig Conover, shares how to find the courage to truly be yourself. Click below to listen now.

Exercise

Let’s face it, not everyone is a fan of exercise, but it has so many perks. You are doing your body a service by working out because the oxygen and nutrients to your tissues help your cardiovascular system.

The endorphins that you receive from exercise and physical activity are like little sprinkles atop a cupcake. All it takes is 30 minutes of movement to gain those natural «feel-good hormones» to improve your mood and health.

Eat a Balanced Diet

Your diet is more important than exercising because what you put in your body determines how your body responds. A healthy balanced diet will positively affect your mood and overall being. If you eat poorly (fried, high sodium, high-sugar foods), your organs will respond negatively. As a result, you will either have hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, or worse—all of the above.

Rachel Goldman

There is a relationship between food and mood. We have mood swings when we don’t eat a balanced diet, but we also have mood swings when we don’t eat. We become irritable, lack concentration, and focus without proper nutrition.

This doesn’t go to say you can’t treat yourself sometimes, but having a balanced meal with baked or grilled protein and vegetables will make your body stronger and your mind happier.

Choose Your Company Wisely

Choosing the company you keep is so imperative in life. Unfortunately, not everyone means well, and it’s important to be aware of that.

«Having a good support system is known to help improve our happiness and well-being; just knowing that others are there for you goes a long way,» says Goldman. Make it your priority only to allow people in your life that are beneficial to your mental health as you should be to theirs. Some friends can be toxic, and you won’t even realize until you end the relationship. Happiness is contingent upon your personal and professional life choices.

Happiness is defined differently by every person. Though the things listed above are suggestions, you can use them as a starting point to gather an idea of your own.

Dr. Goldman also noted that having a routine and structure helps us feel grounded and balanced. Pets and plants have also shown evidence of positively impacting our moods.

It All Starts With You

If there is something in your life that isn’t bringing you happiness you have to let it go. That can be relationships in any magnitude: family, friendship, or a spouse or partner. It will be difficult, but is it worth your peace of mind?

If you are unhappy with yourself, who’s responsible? You guessed it, You! Be gentle with yourself and take baby steps. If you desire to lose weight, don’t attempt to quit what you’re doing cold turkey, that seldom works. Wean yourself off of your bad habits, and each day will be a little easier.

If you want a better job, or if you want to start your own business, don’t quit your job, start saving until you can leave and be your own boss. Try to slowly eliminate stress from your life and you will begin to see results.

Happiness Is Possible, Again

The good thing about being happy again is, if you’ve lost it, you can find it. It is attainable whether you decide to reach back or move toward unchartered territory for a new place of happiness. Of course, life is unpredictable, and we aren’t promised 365 days of joy, but we can strive to have more good days than bad. But even in those bad days, we can appreciate the good that we’ve experienced.

Results from a study demonstrated that engagement in meaningful activities as captured by hedonic and eudaimonic well-being processes might promote well-being outcomes.

This is quite intriguing information because hedonic focuses on pleasure, and eudaimonic pertains to engagement functions. To obtain happiness, you must have both. That’s why it’s essential to engage in things you enjoy, and it’s often suggested to turn hobbies into careers. As the saying goes, «If you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.» And that’s where the pleasure comes in; if you enjoy the engagement process, pleasure will follow.

A Word From Verywell

Happiness is within reach, it’s just waiting for you to grab it. Take the necessary steps to get back to your happy place. Once you eliminate all that’s deterring you from reaching your ideal space, you’ll be glad you did. So what are you waiting for? Get up right now and get your happiness back!

This lesson is about happiness, and things that make people happy. You are going to watch a short video which poses the questions «what is happiness?» and «how can we cultivate it?»

Think briefly about the questions below before watching the video.

1) What would you say happiness is?

2) Would you describe yourself as a happy person?

3) What makes you happy?

4) Who is the happiest person you know? Why do you think that is?

Watch the video, and listen for the main idea. Don’t try to understand everything.

>>

Feedback and Answers

1. False. The video says that «even the word ‘happy’ can seem like an abstract term, meaning different things to different people.

2. False. The video states that pleasure is based on external factors. It goes on to say that «performing good deeds and generosity increases happiness.»

3. To ‘sweat decisions’ means to take a long time to make your mind up.

4. According to the video, «research suggests that people often regret purchasing an expensive item».

5. According to the video «those at the pinnacle of success don’t report significantly higher levels of happiness».

6. The video says that «being part of a defined community group raises happiness levels.»

7. True. According to the video, research has shown that «the happiest people don’t dwell on negative or ambiguous events.»

8. It depends. Keeping a diary can make you happier, but it depends on what you make note of. Keeping a diary of things you are thankful for has been shown to increase happiness.

9. The video doesn’t mention anything about marriage raising happiness levels.

10. The advice given in the video is based on scientific research.

Happiness is an uncountable noun. Happiness can be measured, but it can’t be counted.

Most abstract nouns are uncountable.

What other abstract nouns can you think of that are uncountable?

Can you think of any abstract nouns that are countable?

Here are some conversation questions for English students on the subject of happiness, to help you practise your English.

Ask your friends and family some of these questions and write down their answers.

1) What things make you happy? Why?

2) Who makes you happy? Why?

3) When were you happiest? Why?

4) Does your job make you happy?

5) Do your hobbies make you happy?

6) Are there any films that make you happy?

7) Do you enjoy making other people happy?

8) What is your favourite happy song?

9) Would winning a lot of money make you happy? Why/Why not?

10) If you could give one piece of advice to someone about being happy, what would it be?

How to Become Happy: 7 Ways to Be Happy

Do you want to become happy? Then you should read 7 wonderful recommendations that will make your life easier and brighter!

Dear reader, welcome to our useful site Motivational tips! 💡

If you don’t know how to become happy and where to find the long-awaited happiness, this article is definitely for you! I’ve already worked out several ways which can help you to acquire happiness.

Try to remember how many times your conversation with the beloved person was interfered by a phone call.

Has anyone called you at the very same moment when you felt total satisfaction, happiness and emotional unity with your partner?

I guess such calls have repeatedly ruined all romantic atmosphere of the evening or interrupted you in the middle of the sentence, preventing you from saying something important.

However, I’m sure that you picked up the phone anyway, feeling irritated and angry.

To my mind, our life totally consists of such details and trifles.

So, why do we have to spend it as it is necessary for somebody else, but not the way it is necessary for us?

Actually, this is really easy to do. You can be either the author of your life, or the victim of injustice and bad circumstances.

This article includes 7 recommendations which will definitely improve your life and help you to become happy!

7 Ways to Be Happy

How to Become Happy: Be Responsible for Your Actions

You should remember that only you can decide what can happen in your life, and only you can manage your life the way you think is right.

Nobody can live your life instead of you.

If you don’t start controlling your life, sooner or later you’ll notice that your life is just passing by.

Such things happen when we think too much about our past or future. Our past cannot be changed, as well as our future cannot be controlled by us.

It is very necessary to think about our present, to live right now and right here, because these moments will never come back and soon will become only the part of our past.

It is very important to realize that you are living your life right now, and that you have to become happy at this moment, and not postpone it for later.

If you take control over your life, you will not accuse somebody of your mistakes and you’ll be able to change everything at any suitable moment.

If You Want to Be Happy, You Should Always Complete Whatever You Do

Very often when we start something new, we are so over-excited that we are actually confident of our future success. However, after some time, our fervour fades away and we stop halfway to the end.

And we do this again and again, never finishing what we have started.

As a result, our life becomes a series of incomplete tasks, and this cannot make us happy, for sure.

How Can I Be Happy: Love Is the Answer

Even if you think that there is nobody for you to love at the moment, it’s not quite right. Love yourself, other people and the world around you.

Then life will definitely return all this love back to you. Try to remember that all that you give away will be repaid to you a hundredfold.

How to Be Happy: Find Yourself a Hobby

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.
Oppenheim

There are so many different hobbies, such as singing, sewing, dancing, reading, hiking, yoga classes, walking, travelling or even sunbathing.

Some of us can find 1001 reasons why they cannot fill their lives with happiness and satisfaction.

The most commonplace reason is that we often don’t know what can make us happy.

This happens because most of us are not used to feeling happy and pleased. We think too much about our job and everyday routine, and often forget about the need to feel joy.

What is really necessary for you to do is to change the words “I have to” to the words “I want to”. Of course, it’s not easy to do, but don’t you want to become happy?

There Is No Need to Pick Up the Phone Every Time It Rings

This makes you dependent on your phone calls and forbids you to live happily and flaccidly.

If you don’t want to speak to anybody at the moment, just don’t do it.

You are not obliged to pick up the phone every time it rings.

And if you have some urgent things to do, turn off your door bell.

It can also interfere with your thoughts and affairs.

How Can I Become Happy: Say Goodbye to Some People

Honestly, do you need to communicate with people who spoil your day? They use you only as a waste-bin where they throw all their negative emotions and complaints.

Of course, THEY need you… but do YOU need them? Try to think whether you will become happier after such conversation? Then you’ll just have to throw such people out your life, once and forever.

If You Want to Be Happy, Be Thankful

Be thankful to God, the Universe and your life for everything you’ve got.

This can be referred both to insignificant and very important things.

By being always thankful, you open yourself for something new that will definitely take place in your life.

Whatever life throws us at, we should avoid depression and live our life to the fullest, right now and right here.

How to Be Happy

The U.N.’s World Happiness Report — created to curtail our unhealthy obsession with G.D.P. — is dominated every year by the Nordic countries. We head to Denmark to learn the secrets of this happiness epidemic (and to see if we should steal them).

Freakonomics Radio Network Newsletter

Stay up-to-date on all our shows. We promise no spam.

Episode Transcript

Until a few years ago, Helen Russell was leading a seemingly happy life in London, working as an editor for the fashion magazine Marie Claire. True, she did feel restless at times; also true, she and her husband had been struggling with fertility treatments. That said, she had no intention of leaving the U.K.

Helen RUSSELL: Until out of the blue, one wet Wednesday, my husband came home and told me he’d been offered his dream job working for Lego in Denmark. And we knew nothing about the country, as many people in other countries are fairly ignorant of Scandinavia. We couldn’t really have pinpointed it on a map.

They decided to go for it. But as soon as they arrived — in a small town in the rural hinterlands of Denmark, in the dead of winter— she had regrets.

RUSSELL: My husband left to go to work at 7:30 a.m. I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t speak the language. I was in this freezing cold, dark country all by myself. I did a lot of howling at the moon, thinking I’d made the biggest mistake ever. And I did a lot of eating danish pastries, because as a repressed Brit, I like to eat my emotions.

But Russell had heard — as you may have heard — that Denmark is routinely at or near the very top of the annual happiness ranking compiled by the United Nations. And the other Nordic countries — Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland — pretty much dominate the top 10. Russell naturally wondered, why? What are the causes, and consequences, of this alleged happiness epidemic? Was it for real? What are the downsides? She set out to answer these questions, in a book she called The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country. Along the way, she asked nearly every Dane she met how they would rank their happiness on a scale of 1 to 10. A funny thing happened during this process: Russell herself became quite a bit happier.

RUSSELL: I was maybe — I’d have said a 6 was a good day in London, and now I’m generally on that 8, and sometimes a 9, if I’m lucky.

DUBNER: You’re practically Danish.

RUSSELL: I’m practically Danish.

Today on Freakonomics Radio: What causes all this happiness?

Jeffrey SACHS: What it is, I think, is a kind of ethos of life.

What’s keeping less-happy countries from copying it?

And: an economist who thinks we should worry more about well-being and less about traditional measures like G.D.P.

SACHS: My God. Let’s get serious about the quality of our lives and stop this nonsense of chasing such a poor indicator that is taking us actually farther away from our happiness.

I recently spent a few days in Copenhagen. There was one person I was very excited to meet.

WIKING: So my name is Meik Wiking, and I’m the C.E.O. of the Happiness Research Institute here in Copenhagen.

DUBNER: And is “Viking” a common surname here?

WIKING: No. I think we’re a handful of people. My dad is called Wolf. I have a brother called Kenneth. I have a couple of nephews, one is called Max Wiking, so he needs to grow up big and tall.

DUBNER: Do you do Halloween here, where you dress up as costumes?

WIKING: I see where this is going.

DUBNER: I’m just curious, were you a Viking every year when you were a child?

WIKING: No. But there was one episode, yes.

Wiking has a background in political science, economics and sociology — all of which figure in understanding what’s called happiness.

WIKING: One of the challenges we have with happiness is to define it and to measure it. And we should first and foremost acknowledge that it’s a wide umbrella term. So, you have one understanding of what happiness is, and I have another one. So we need to break it down and look at different components. The first is an overall life satisfaction. And here you essentially ask your respondents to take a step back and evaluate their lives.

Happiness researchers also track people’s moods in the moment.

WIKING: “How happy are you right now? How happy were you yesterday?” And there we can see that weather, what day of the week it is, impacts our happiness levels. People are happier — no big surprise — on the weekend, than they are on Monday mornings.

They also measure people’s sense of meaning.

WIKING: That builds on what Aristotle thought the good life was. To him, the good life was the meaningful life. So here we try to understand, do people have a sense of purpose?

A sense of purpose. A self-evaluation of life satisfaction. You may think all this sounds a bit squishy — especially to an economist, yes?

SACHS: I’m going to answer anything you’re going to ask me.

Okay, we’ll ask some questions. First one’s easy: Would you please introduce yourself?

SACHS: Jeff Sachs, a university professor at Columbia University. And I am special adviser to the United Nations Secretary General on the Sustainable Development Goals. One part of that is human well-being. And so I am a co-editor each year of the World Happiness Report.

The World Happiness Report — that’s where Denmark and the other Nordic countries always come out on top. Jeff Sachs, just so you know, isn’t some woo-woo feel-good witch doctor. You may have heard him on our program before, talking about his work as an interventional economist for governments in crisis:

SACHS: I worked in Poland and in Russia after the communist system collapsed.

Also in Bolivia, trying to tame its hyperinflation.

SACHS: And I worked in Latin America very extensively for several years after the work in Bolivia.

The calls kept coming.

SACHS: And then in 1995, another quite decisive turn for me was an invitation to go to Zambia and to see what this experience and these lessons might mean for Africa.

Over time, and because of those experiences, Sachs came to believe that his fellow economists had left something out of their worldview. Something, in fact, quite vital.

SACHS: The economics profession took a very bad turn roughly 150 years ago when it decided that, since it wasn’t possible to measure happiness or to compare happiness across individuals, we would look basically at consumer preferences.

The inspiration to incorporate happiness into economic modeling came from a rather unlikely source.

SACHS: So, back in 1971, the fourth king of Bhutan — who also brought democracy to the country — was an extremely, extremely wise leader, he raised the question already, why are we pursuing Gross National Product when we should be pursuing Gross National Happiness? You know, it’s such a wonderful phrase. And GNH entered the vocabulary of a small niche of economists and a small niche of Buddhists and others who are dreaming of this, already, decades ago.

But Bhutan went ahead as a very poor country and actually set up the mechanisms for detailed survey measurement of dimensions of Gross National Happiness. It set up a Gross National Happiness commission. It ordered that all legislation should be an evaluated happiness benefit-cost ratio.

Sachs began meeting with the king, and they brought more world leaders and economists into the happiness conversation. This ultimately led to the creation of the U.N.’s World Happiness Report. The concept was jarring to many of Sachs’s colleagues, particularly in the U.S.

SACHS: Well, in our country, we don’t talk about almost anything else in the public space. It’s all about growth, G.D.P., incomes. Of course, there is a massive industry of happiness studies, self-help manuals, helping people to overcome all sorts of unhappinesses, trying to help people find meaning in their lives, trying to help people make better decisions about their lives.

To Sachs, the booming self-help industry in rich countries like the U.S. reveals a disturbing paradox.

SACHS: We have the paradox that income per person rises in the United States but happiness does not. And it’s not that that’s because humans are humans. It’s because the U.S. is falling behind other countries, because we are not pursuing dimensions of happiness that are extremely important: our physical health, the mental health in our community, the social support, the honesty in government. And this is weighing down American well-being.

Like the Danish happiness expert Meik Wiking, Sachs finds wisdom in the ancient Greek model.

SACHS: I go with Aristotle — he’s my guy, my favorite philosopher. And he pointed out in the Nicomachean Ethics, 2,300 years ago, that to be happy requires the good benefit of having material needs met. So don’t deny those, he said. But he also said only aiming for wealth, single-mindedly pursuing a higher wealth, is certainly no way to happiness, and after a certain point of income, work on other things — work on your friendship, work on your mental health, work on your physical health. Work on good governance, work on your charitableness. Because in this kind of world, a good life is a balanced and a virtuous life. Not a single-minded pursuit of income.

Okay, if these are the factors that supposedly generate happiness — community, good mental and physical health, good governance — and since Denmark and the other Nordic countries top the happiness rankings, let’s take a look at how they address those factors. Let’s start with the social-safety net; Meik Wiking again:

WIKING: There is obviously universal healthcare. There’s also free university education. In fact, now —

DUBNER: Up through university — I mean, along — from the lower level too — it’s always free, yes?

WIKING: So, heavily subsidized kindergarten; primary school, free; high school, free; and university, free. And you get a government grant. And that creates also a lot of social mobility. So —

DUBNER: As does health care not being tied to a job, which we have mostly in the States.

Danes also work fewer hours: on average, 27.6 hours per week, compared to 34.4 in the U.S. To Helen Russell, moving here from Britain, that was a big change.

RUSSELL: There’s no stigma to clocking off — people work mainly from 8 until 4 in offices. There’s no stigma to leaving at 4 because you’ve got to go pick up your kids from daycare, you’ve got to go make supper, or you just need to get on with your hobbies.

Denmark strives toward egalitarianism on the gender front, and its parental-leave policies are famously generous.

RUSSELL: So, there’s 52 weeks — both parents can share it between them. And you can defer, I think, 13 weeks of this for, I believe it’s up to eight or possibly nine years. I have a friend whose family are — she has two children and the youngest one is now five, but she’s taking 13 weeks off next year to go on a big trip around Australia. And I was outraged by this, like, “Goodness, isn’t this taking the mick a little bit?” She said, “No, it’s perfectly acceptable here.” So yeah, it’s just a different mindset, I guess.

SACHS: The basic idea of social democracy is to pay attention to social cohesion, to provide ample social goods like healthcare available automatically for all, education at all levels available for all, vacation time available for all.

Jeff Sachs argues this strong social support in the Nordic model contributes to a number of healthy outcomes.

SACHS: The life expectancy is higher. Our obesity epidemic does not exist in those countries. Our opioid epidemic does not exist in those countries.

WIKING: There is also a high level of trust towards the government. And that goes hand in hand with the Nordic countries being at the low end when it comes to corruption, or perceived corruption. We have a different perception of the state. So, what I see from over here, you feel you need to be protected from the state. Is that a fair assumption?

DUBNER: It’s a fair assumption for a significant fraction, at least, of Americans, let’s say — not all, certainly, but yeah.

WIKING: And people in the Nordic countries will feel that the state protects us from things. The high level of social security is one element, that there is a notion that if you fall, you will be picked up. So I think we see more the state on our side and helping us create good conditions for good lives.

Scandinavia also gets high marks on interpersonal social trust.

WIKING: So, if you ask Danes and Norwegians and Swedes, do you feel that most people can be trusted, or can you become too careful when it comes to strangers? Three out of four would say, “Yes, you can trust most strangers.” The global average is one in four.

RUSSELL: So, you may have heard of — there was a story in New York a few years ago of a Danish woman who was there, who left her child sleeping outside in a pram, which is what you do in Denmark, and was arrested for child neglect. And lots of people in Denmark didn’t understand why it was such a fuss, because in Denmark people trust most people. And this plays into everything. You are not anxious if you trust the people around you, you’re not scared they’re going to rob you to put food on their table.

DUBNER: And have you become more trusting as well?

RUSSELL: Yeah, I think so. I don’t want to reveal too much about where I live, but I regularly forget to lock car and/or house.

DUBNER: But considering the very high level of support in Denmark for citizens from prenatal, really, until literally after death, my question — which is maybe unanswerable — is, would you say that the very high level of social trust is a result of such a generous social security system, or the cause of it?

RUSSELL: That’s a really interesting question, and it’s something that academics in Denmark are still very much grappling with. Some of the economists that I spoke to for The Year of Living Danishly put it that, actually, these high levels of trust have been here, that pre-date the social services and social welfare system. Other people argue it’s the other way around.

There’s something interesting about the experience of living Danishly that increases your levels of trust. So immigrants to Denmark also end up adopting Danish values, or their levels of trust rise as the experience of being around Danes and being in this environment starts to sort of filter in and bed down. So it’s a real debate, actually — there’s a bit of both.

Russell enumerates several other factors that may contribute to a relatively high state of Danish happiness. Most people belong to at least a few clubs or community groups; they spend a lot of time on fitness and outdoor activities; and they don’t put too much emphasis on material possessions.

WIKING: Yes, it’s frowned upon to flash your wealth, to flash your success.

Meik Wiking again.

WIKING: That is quite common in the Nordic countries. So it also sort of puts a lid on conspicuous consumption.

DUBNER: So do you believe that that is a driver, major or minor, of overall happiness, that people feel less compelled to compare themselves to others?

WIKING: Yes, a minor one, but I think it’s one. And yeah, there’s so many studies out there that show that inequality is bad for health, for crime rates, for murder rates and all sorts of things.

RUSSELL: It’s really interesting. So I — literally this morning, I’ve just come from an independent coffee bar and there’s an equality there. There is not a difference between the person who is serving me coffee and the person buying the coffee. You can talk as equals because you know that you are both probably, after tax, taking home around about the same amount. And everybody is having a sort of decent life.

On the flip side, there’s not the same service culture. I was just back in the U.K. for work. Oh my goodness, everyone was so nice to me. And when I go to the States, that’s even more so, and I have to remind myself, “Oh, they’re being nice to me because there’s a financial imperative.” And there is more of a service culture in some places than others. In Denmark, that’s not the case. You don’t expect bells and whistles. But I’m kind of fine with that now.

There is one more Danish attribute that’s said to greatly contribute to happiness.

WIKING: Well done. So, I think the best explanation of what hygge is, is the art of creating a nice atmosphere. So it’s about togetherness. It’s about pleasure. It’s about warmth. It’s about relaxation. And that is a key cornerstone of Danish culture. To Danes, hygge is perhaps what freedom is to the Americans.

DUBNER: But I gather there are also physical components of it that are specific — a lot of candles, good lighting and good pastries and so on. Pillows.

WIKING: Right. Because hygge is about atmosphere, lighting is important. Lamps are important. Candles are crucial. So we’re — so Danes burn twice as much candle wax as number two in Europe, which is Austria.

Wiking is the author of an international best-seller called The Little Book of Hygge.

WIKING: And I receive a lot of letters from readers saying, I’ve been having hygge all my life. I just didn’t know there was a word for it. So I think what we did with hygge was, we gave a word or a language for people to appreciate something they were already doing.

RUSSELL: It’s in every area of Danish life. And I’m working with UNESCO right now to get it put on the World Heritage Intangibles List. Studies show that if you are practicing hygge, it’s a bit like self-kindness, but without the woo. And it makes you nicer to other people. This has a ripple effect out into society. So it really does contribute to happiness.

I was recently in Copenhagen, speaking with Meik Wiking who’s C.E.O. of the Happiness Research Institute. I’d been hearing about all the factors that make Denmark and the other Nordic countries rank so high on the U.N.’s World Happiness Report — the generous healthcare and child-care and education benefits, the strong levels of social trust; and the hygge! It was all sounding a bit too good to be true.

DUBNER: Wouldn’t you think that more governments around the world would look at the Scandinavian model and say, “Wow, they are thriving economically, and they’re thriving on a happiness-and-life-satisfaction level, let’s just do what they are doing.” Why do you think it hasn’t happened even more?

WIKING: The price tag. So, I think that the tax level is what scares politicians. But I do sense a larger and larger interest. I get visits on a weekly basis, especially from South Korea. We do see a lot of interest in trying to understand what is it that is working so well in the Nordic countries that seems to have a positive impact on people’s lives.

SACHS: Now, one thing that those countries do, which is unimaginable in the U.S. context as of today — they tax themselves and tax themselves.

That, again, is the economist Jeff Sachs, an editor of the World Happiness Report.

SACHS: And they end up paying, oh, 45 to 50 percent of national income.

RUSSELL: A lot of people are paying around 50 per cent.

And that’s the recent British transplant Helen Russell.

RUSSELL: I’d say most things — if you’re doing your grocery shop, it’s maybe 20 percent more. Goods and services are very expensive. So yeah, life is more expensive. There is not very much extra when you’ve paid for everything.

But the data show that high taxes and prices are generally considered worthwhile.

WIKING: Nine out of ten Danes are happily paying their taxes. There is an acknowledgement that we collectively invest in the public good, and that is fed back to people in terms of quality of life.

RUSSELL: There is something about the taxes. When you’re paying that much tax, you have to trust that this is all going to be worth it. And, like, life, you know — we’re all trapped by something; we have to choose what we’re going to be trapped by. And for me, that seems quite a good thing to put my chips on.

DUBNER: One counterargument is that, well, if you have that, what you don’t have are the huge rewards for innovation and invention. So, there are a lot of things that we complain about in the U.S., including income inequality, including the lack of a lot of the social-service network that a lot of European countries have. But we are the country that makes Apple and Google. And on and on and on and on. It seems that there’s an upside to status-seeking, as well as downsides.

RUSSELL: You’re right in terms of accomplishment. There isn’t the same incentive perhaps to go the extra mile that there might be in the U.K. and the U.S., I’d say. So I know that in some places of work, for instance, if your team is working on something but it’s 4 o’clock, they’re going to go home. That can be a frustration for people coming from other countries who are used to people staying there, to really impress the boss or just to do that extra bit.

I think for me and from weighing up the pros and cons, there are always trade offs. And the idea that you can have most of the people doing okay and fairly happy — well, no, pretty happy, actually — that feels sort of worth it, rather than a couple of tall poppies and everyone else in the gutter.

WIKING: I think perhaps Danes have lower materialistic ambitions than in some countries. But in terms of having an interesting job, having a happy family, having a healthy hobby and keeping fit, I think there is a lot of, sort of, expectations that people want to live up to.

DUBNER: Okay, so you’ve told us that Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries are relatively very high on social trust compared to the rest of the world. And you’ve told us that social trust drives happiness. We also know that social trust decreases when diversity increases. At least, that’s what a lot of literature that I’ve seen has to say. And we know that Denmark and other Scandinavian countries are — relative to other rich countries, the U.S. and the U.K. in particular — are not very diverse. How much do you think the social trust in a place like Denmark is driven by some version of homogeneity? I’ve read that something like 85 percent of Danish citizens are not only born here but are ethnically derived from Danes. So how much of it is just a sort of comfort with belonging to a club that you belong to?

WIKING: Yeah. So it’s true, in some of the Nordic countries, there is a high level of homogeneity. In Sweden it’s much less — they’ve been much more welcoming to refugees and immigrants in the past years than, for instance, Denmark and Norway. But then again, if you see the level of trust, that has not declined.

DUBNER: In Sweden, yet, you’re saying?

WIKING: In Sweden, in Denmark, in Norway, in those countries that have accepted immigrants.

DUBNER: Has it been long enough, though, to know? Like with the refugees coming primarily from Syria and Iraq, that’s relatively recent.

WIKING: That’s true. But —

DUBNER: And I also wonder — when I see those numbers, I wonder whether those refugees are part of the survey on social trust? Do we know?

WIKING: They are. But now it’s refugees from Syria. But when I grew up, it was refugees from Vietnam. Then, in the ‘90s, it was refugees from Bosnia. Then also in the ‘70s, it was not refugees, but migrant workers from Turkey. So we’ve had a lot of different waves of migrants, it’s not a new phenomenon. And I don’t see evidence that trust had fallen in the Nordic countries in that time.

DUBNER: I’ve read and heard from people who move here either as highly skilled workers or as refugees, that Denmark works great if you’re Danish. And that it’s much harder — and granted, most countries are this way — but one particular complaint in Scandinavia is that even when you’re being treated fairly and given opportunities, economic and educational opportunities and so on, it can be very, very hard to break into the society.

WIKING: Yes. And that’s what I hear also from expats living here, from my international friends, that it’s very, very difficult to penetrate the social circles in Denmark and Scandinavia. So it takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of time. It’s a really, really tight-knit network, and it’s also a very small country. And people still live down the block from people who they know from, they were in kindergarten together.

SACHS: I believe that social, linguistic, ethnic, religious homogeneity probably is conducive to the social democratic model, but I don’t believe that diversity is a barrier to it.

The economist Jeff Sachs again. The 2018 edition of the World Happiness Report focused on migration and happiness. One finding, he says, jumped out at his team of researchers.

SACHS: People who move from a poor, unhappy, violence-filled country to a happy Nordic country become like the Nordic citizens in the country. They do carry some of the legacy of the country that they came from. But the adjustment is remarkably fast.

But, of course, the adjustment depends on how welcoming a new country is.

SACHS: It matters to go to a country where people are desirous and accepting of in-migration. I’m happy to say that, despite what might appear to be the case in Trump-land right now, Americans rank rather high on acceptability of migrants, and still do, and I think that’s a wonderful thing. What I find fascinating about the social democracies — and Denmark is a good example of this — there’s a very strong anti-migrant party in Denmark that is also very economically and socially left-of-center.

So it’s basically social democracy, but for the Danish people, not for migrants. Whereas in the United States — and in many other countries — we tend to think of anti-immigrant also as being right-wing. But Scandinavia has, “Yeah, we love our social democracy, but it’s just for us.”

WIKING: It’s also important to say here that, you know, Denmark, as you have seen, is by no means a utopia.

Meik Wiking again.

WIKING: First and foremost, it’s important to note that the World Happiness Report, that is based on a national average. So you have people above that average and below that average.

DUBNER: And the suicide rate here, for instance, is not wildly low — in fact it’s somewhere in the middle, correct?

WIKING: Yeah, you would expect that the happiest countries in the world have a suicide rate of zero.

DUBNER: Although, truthfully, the data show that there is a paradox, in that suicide increases with well-being and prosperity, yeah?

WIKING: So, if you look at the U.S. states, the individual states, the higher level of life satisfaction, the higher level of suicide rates.

DUBNER: The most compelling explanation of suicide I’ve ever heard about — discussed with the fellow who promulgates it — because we don’t really know that much about suicide, because it’s taboo, the research is very distant and so on. But he calls it the “no-one-left-to-blame” theory. Which is that if you have problems in life but you’ve got a toxic environment or a nasty government, you can always imagine that life will get a lot better. But if you’re surrounded by happy, shiny people and you’re not happy and shiny, it can be — so can you talk about that notion in a place that’s so happy?

WIKING: Yeah. So, there is a term, “the happiness-suicide paradox,” that talks about exactly that — that it might be more difficult to be unhappy in an otherwise happy society. If everybody around you feels that life is great, that are oh-so-happy, and you yourself feel unhappy, then that could create a stronger contrast and maybe you start to blame yourself. And more developed countries have reduced the reasons why we should be unhappy. You know, eliminate poverty, have eliminated lack of education — then if I have all these opportunities, why am I still unhappy? We start to internalize that cause and blame ourselves.

Helen Russell, the British expat, has now lived in Denmark for six years. You may recall that she and her husband had been trying, unsuccessfully, to have children back at home.

RUSSELL: We had been trying to start a family for years, trying many different types of fertility treatment. But it never quite worked, and the only feedback I kept getting from various medical professionals was, “Oh, you know, we don’t know what it is, but you’re quite stressed and” — but everyone in London is stressed. It’s city life, it’s what you do. So you just carry on. Life is busy. We just carry on.

DUBNER: Then you moved to Denmark. I understand now you have not one but three children. So is Denmark also somehow a fertility engine — how did that work?

RUSSELL: I am now riddled with children, you are quite right. I have a litter. Yeah, I think — so, full disclosure: child number one, Little Red, I found out I was pregnant six months after moving here. And so he — yeah, that is a result of being more relaxed, and that is an incredible thing. Also the work-life balance is more conducive to being relaxed enough to conceive, and also to having a family here. Women can have a career and a family because everything’s shared a bit more equally between the sexes and there is this heavily subsidized child care. I actually had I.V.F. for my twins who were born last year. But again, it’s cheaper to have I.V.F. here than it certainly would have been in the U.K.. And interestingly, Denmark is one of the biggest exporters of sperm, so there’s a lot of genetically Danish babies that will be coming around the place in the next few years.

This suggests a nice study for some demographer out there — to see whether all those genetically Danish babies will go spreading happiness around the globe. In the meantime, Helen Russell has also adapted to the Danish style of parenting.

RUSSELL: I do leave my children outside to sleep.

DUBNER: Not overnight, presumably.

RUSSELL: Not overnight, no. I mean, I might forget one day, but no, just for nap times. And they do sleep really well, because of the fresh air, and they’re all bundled up in their old-fashioned prams, Mary Poppins-style.

Thanks to Helen Russell, Jeffrey Sachs and Meik Wiking for speaking with us.

Freakonomics Radio is produced by Stitcher and Dubner Productions. This episode was produced by Max Miller and Anders Kelto, with help from Alvin Melathe, and a special thanks to Denmark Radio for helping us out in Vejle. Our staff also includes Alison Craiglow, Greg Rosalsky, Greg Rippin, Harry Huggins, Zack Lapinski and Andy Meisenheimer. The music you hear throughout the episode was composed by Luis Guerra. You can subscribe to Freakonomics Radio on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

How to Be Happy

What is Happiness?

We are so busy with different aspects of our life such as making money, managing relationships, solving problems, handling pressures, and doing so many other things, that it is very easy to neglect the fact you haven’t been happy for a very long time. It’s not that we forget happiness, because we do claim that most of the things we work towards have happiness as one of its end goals. For example, we want to be richer; have a bigger house, a higher position at work, etc. because we think all these things would lead us to happiness. So, clearly we have plans to be “happy” in the future. But we have certainly forgotten to be happy in the present.

We seldom realize that no amount of money is ever going to satisfy you, no house is big enough, and no position is the highest. Once we reach a goal, we would want to go further up. This is human nature and there is nothing wrong with it. You might ask, “The, what is the problem”? Well, the problem is not in having desires or ambitions. It arises when we begin to associate happiness with these external things. Sure, some of these things bring you happiness, but not for too long. You do not need to wait for huge achievements and accomplishments to be happy. Happiness is much more easily available to you than you think.

All you need is the desire and will to be happy. Happiness is an emotional state of well-being. It basically means how your mind responds to the things you see in your surroundings; hear from people, your experiences with other human beings, animals, or nature, and most importantly your feelings about yourself. We feel happiness when we win a lottery. It should be noted here that it is not the money that gives us happiness but our response to being rich is what brings us happiness. Happiness is in the mind. Hence, Leo Tolstoy rightly says, “If you want to be happy, be.”

When Can You Be Happy, According to Science

Science too, ascertains the fact that we just spoke about. Happiness can be controlled by us. It is possible to be happy based on certain experiences in life. Some tasks, activities, behaviors have been scientifically proven to promote the feeling of happiness. When you include these experiences and tasks in your day-to-day life, you will realize just how easy it is, to be happy. Take a look at the following science-backed list for happiness:

Spend time with the nature. Enjoying nature and its beauty could have wonderful effects on you and can calm your mind.

Eat healthy foods such as fruits, veggies, and proteins. Drink plenty of water to keep you hydrated.

Be good to yourself no matter what. Sometimes we tend to punish ourselves more than we deserve. Always remember that mistakes happen so you could learn from them. Once you’ve learned your lesson, it’s best to forget the mistake.

Meditate regularly. Science has enough evidences to show that meditation is one of the best stress busters in this world of chaos.

Listen to music. It is known that music has a great way of impacting our moods and feelings. Listen to the kind of music that your body and mind connects with, and you will feel happy instantly.

Groove to the beat. Dancing is one of the best forms of physical activities. It is also a very good stress buster and confidence booster.

Be grateful for everything. Being thankful for your life, family, friends, etc. shows how much you value the things you own and people whom you love. This also makes you realize how lucky you are.

Learn something new. They say you are never too old to learn. Learning or acquiring a new skill has tremendous power to make you happy. So, go for that dance class or the guitar class you’ve always to go.

Write down your feelings and thoughts. These could be happy or sad thoughts. Writing makes you feel better; just the way sharing does. You’ll feel lighter inside. Writing can also be one of the best ways of combating stress.

Take care of yourself. It is very important to realize that nobody in this world is accountable for your well-being, but you. Treat your body and mind with utmost care and respect.

Move on. At times you will have to confront harsh realities of life such as heartbreaks, betrayal, fear, etc. The best you can do in these situations is to forgive and move on. Do not fill your heart with bitterness, you deserve to feel better.

Be someone’s best friend. One of the best feelings in life is to be a part of someone’s happiness and sorrows. Friendship is one of the best relations in the world, and being a true friend to someone will increase your happiness exponentially.

Don’t be serious all the time. Life is not easy for anybody, but if we try to find a way to smile through everything life throws our way, finding joy can be much easier than we think.

Help others as much as you can. This will make you think highly of yourself. When your efforts make others happy, you feel proud too.

Spend time with your family, partner, and friends. No matter how many professional and business commitments you may have, never miss being around the people who love you. They matter to you more than your professional contacts and let them know that.

Spread happiness with little gestures such as complimenting someone, smiling at strangers, helping an old or differently-abled person cross the road, etc. These acts have equally positive effects on you as much as they have on its recipients.

Work. The kind of happiness you get from being satisfied with your work is unparalleled. Getting your work done is a definite way to find happiness.

Save money and spend wisely. Have enough money saved to meet all your needs for a few months. Keep a watch on your cash inflow and outflow, to secure yourself financially.

How to Be Happy

Happiness is an abstract thing and often not related to only one thing at a time. There are thousands of ways to experience happiness. If there is one thing to feel sad about, there are ten other ways to be happy too. You could ensure you are happy all the time by bringing about some changes in your outlook towards life. Here is how:

Take Charge

There are so many external factors that are linked to our emotions. We should understand that it is completely up to us to determine how we should feel about a certain incident. If we do not let sadness conquer our minds, we can own our happiness.

Prioritize Everything that Matters

Often we end up being too occupied with our own lives that our loved ones feel neglected. This is one of the primary reasons why there are so many failed marriages and broken families. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the famous writer, once said, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least”. This is exactly what we forget to realize. We keep people whom we love waiting while we reserve most of our time for people who do not matter at all. Think about it.

Look at the Positives

It is very easy to feel dejected about something that has not gone your way. You are bound to be disappointed. Being disappointed for a while is fine, but do not sulk or think about it for too long. Every mistake you make is an opportunity to learn and grow. Every failure makes you better. Always try to look at the positives in any situation. Think of all the problems you have in life and then reflect on the things you learned from them. You will soon realize that your life would’ve been quite boring without some of these problems and challenges.

Have Loads of Gratitude

This is closely related to the above point. Be grateful for all the good things in life and learn to appreciate the little ones, as well. When someone surprises you with a chocolate or something even as simple as a call from an old friend, all this goes a long way to keeping you upbeat throughout the day. Before going to bed each day, think about every single good thing that happened to you that day and be thankful for them all.

Be Compassionate to Yourself

You deserve to be treated well; you deserve to have the best life possible. Do not be harsh on yourself. Various studies have confirmed that self-talk has a major influence on how you feel. Positive self-talk boosts your energy, and helps you overcome fear, nervousness, etc., whereas negative self-talk only deteriorates your mood further. Talk to yourself the way you’d want others to talk to you. Love yourself more than anyone else. Take care of yourself first!

Be around People Who Love You the Most

Not everyone in this world is going to love you and you cannot please everybody. People who have never been supportive of you, who always put you down, never appreciate anything you do, do not deserve to stay in your life. They could be your friends, colleagues, or relatives even. Stay away from negative people. They don’t matter.

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone Every Now and Then

This could be a little difficult which is also the reason why doing this gives you gratification. When you accomplish something despite your fear, you feel proud of yourself. Similarly, when you step out of your comfort zone and do something you never thought you would do, you belief in yourself increases. American author, Neale Donald Walsch says, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”.

If You Want to Be Happy, Stop Doing This…

Sometimes, being happy also means simply saying no to certain habits. Some of them may not seem detrimental at the onset but they affect your emotions and feelings drastically. Stop doing the following and see for yourself how you open a plethora of opportunities to be happy.

Stop worrying about the future or the past. Live in the moment. The future might be uncertain, unfamiliar, or scary. All you could do is plan and be prepared for it and let it reveal itself with time. Similarly, the past is gone and no matter how much you think about it, you cannot change it. Learn to live in the moment. Make the most of NOW.

Trying to Be A Perfectionist

We all want our work to be perfect, but you know what? There is no such thing as perfect. Even when you do your best, there would be others who could beat that. There is no definition or standard of perfection. Hence, stop aiming for it. Instead, focus on making something valuable; something that could be of use to someone and your job will be done.

Nagging

What do you do when you want to get some work by someone? You tell them. And if they don’t do that work immediately, you keep telling them. This is highly annoying not just for that person, but even for you. You find yourself saying the same things time and again without any result. It could even lead to frustration and tension in your relationships. It would be far better to just give them a deadline when you assign them a task the first time. You talk about it again only if they haven’t met the deadline.

Wasting Time

We know that happiness is related to achievements, and its opposite is true, as well. Lack of happiness is related to lack of achievements. By lack of achievements I mean, not working towards your goals or spending your time productively. When you waste an hour without any meaningful activity, it could lead to a sense of dissatisfaction.

Gossiping and Back-biting

As exciting and fun as this may sound to you, gossiping about people does not make you very happy. It is an unproductive activity and there are no positive outcomes associated with it. Later, you might subconsciously end up feeling like you’ve wasted your valuable time.

Overthinking and Overanalyzing

We find ourselves spending a lot of time thinking and analyzing things. While you are at it, you hardly ever realize when you often begin overthinking and overanalyzing. Once you have made up your mind, do not re-think your decision unless there is an obvious need to do so. Go with your gut instincts when you are confused. Similarly, do not analyze someone’s words or situations too much; you might trick your mind into believing something that simply doesn’t exist.

Setting Unrealistic Goals

This is one of the surest ways to be unhappy. Sometimes we are so ambitious that we forget to see the not-so-thin line between reality and illusion. We get carried away with confidence and end up setting unrealistic goals for ourselves. Most of us never meet such goals and if we ever did, it would be nothing short of a miracle. But why take chances.

Saying Yes to Everything

This is linked to the previous point. When you say “Yes” to everyone, sooner or later, you will have to start saying “No” to yourself. As mentioned before, it is practically impossible to please everyone. Commit yourself to doing the things that are important and valuable to you. If time and situation permits, you could always take on more tasks. Do not burden yourself unnecessarily with pressure that you could have easily avoided.

Nurturing Hatred and Resentment

Yes we live in this world, which is not perfect. People are bad and they can do bad things. Things that hurt and things that can’t be forgiven. However, by not forgiving people who have wronged us, we nurture negativity within us. Forgive them and move on. You do not have to carry the excess baggage.

Comparing Yourself with Others

Each one of us has a unique set of talents and skills, thought processes, analytical abilities, and so on. No two persons walking on this planet are similar by all means. How can we then compare one another? If you want to beat someone, beat yourself. Compete with yourself and try to get better than last time.

Can you be happy even when you’re sad?

Well, after having read the article this far, you would certainly know the answer to this question. Sadness and happiness are all in the mind. Situations, people, and experiences are never sad or happy. Our reaction to them is sad or happy. Hence, it is very much possible to be happy even when you feel otherwise. Here’s how you can do that…

Lessons Learned

Accepting the fact that problems are a part of life is good way to begin with. Once you know that, understand that every person in this world has problems. The best way to deal with difficult situations in the past is to forget them, but remember the lesson you learned through them.

Share your Sadness

This is the universal truth and something that we’re naturally inclined to do when we’re sad. Sharing your problems and sorrows with your family, friends, or even writing down your feelings on a piece of paper makes you feel lighter. You could also join communities that help people share their problems with other members. This will give you the strength to fight your battles and let you know that you are not going through it all alone.

Force a Smile

Although smiling is the last thing we want to do when we’re sad, when you try to force a smile you naturally feel happy. When you use the muscles that facilitate smile, it has a positive effect on you and it boosts happiness.

Cry Your Heart Out

What is the most natural thing to do when you feel sad? You cry. That’s how your body tries to calm you down when you are loaded with sorrowful feelings. Isn’t it beautiful how nature has its own way to take care of you? Crying is the best remedy to make you feel instantly better.

Visit your Friends

One of the ways to deal with sadness is to forget that you are sad. Who other than your friends could help you forget your sorrows? Hang out with your friends. Sooner than you know, you will forget all your troubles.

Do your Favorite Thing

Distract your mind with the things you like doing. Read your favorite book, eat the most comforting food, or spend some time watching your favorite or funniest TV show or a movie. Reading is often the best thing to do here as it transports you to another world.

Dance, Exercise, or Take a Walk

Dancing is a way of expression which you can effectively use to express your sadness. Additionally, any other physical activity such as exercise, jogging, or taking a walk can have enormous positivity on you. Indulging in sports or other outdoor activities such as trekking also diminishes your sorrows.

Habits of Happy People

We do not have any control over what happens to us, whom we meet, etc. But we can control our emotions and reactions to these external factors. Some people who have mastered this skill can be happy every moment of their lives. So, do these people behave and live differently from others? Read on to find out.

Make Each Moment Count

People who are always happy are always busy. In other words, people who are busy are more likely to be happy. Being busy implies you are either working, meeting people, relaxing with family and friends, or doing some meaningful activity.

Have a Few, But Wonderful Relationships

Happy people know how to build relationships and maintain them. They value all their relationships may it be with their partner, parents, siblings, friends, or relatives. They are willing to go the extra mile for people who they are close to and rarely do they take them for granted. People who are happy have very few but extraordinary relationships.

Find Happiness Within

Happiness is an intrinsic feeling, an emotion that origins within you. Why should you look for happiness elsewhere? Happy people realize that when you tie your happiness to external stimuli such as people, situations, presents, money, etc. you have to wait for these things to happen before you could be happy. You become dependent on these factors.

Move Your Body

It is found that people, who are generally happier than others, perform at least one type of physical activity every day. It could be exercise, yoga, dance, sports, cleaning their house, or any other activity that require them to move their body other than standing and sitting. Physical movements keep them active and charge them up.

Problems and Challenges are Essential Parts of Life

If you shy away from problems or difficult situations, they tend to intimidate you more. Instead, if you expect them to come every now and then, you are better prepared to face them. Also, when you are aware of the fact that problems can be just around the corner and can show up any time, you are less disappointed when they do come.

Make that Dream Come True

One of the most important contributors to happiness is satisfaction that stems from having completed a task. If this task is a part of your dream project, then the happiness simply doubles up. Nothing in the world can beat the happiness you get when you work towards your dreams, and finally realize it. Every second you spend on that dream of yours is going to be blissful.

No Hard Feelings

How can you be happy when you hate someone? How can you be happy when your heart is home to negative feelings? Well, you cannot. That’s exactly why it’s said, get rid of all the bitterness before you long to be happy, and rightly so. This is the mantra followed by happy people.

Love Yourself

This is the most important quality of happy people. They treat themselves with great care, respect, and with loads of love. Loving is the feeling that is directly related to happiness. When you learn to love yourself, you want yourself to be happy.

Happiness is the feeling that makes you feel good, positive, confident, attractive, and lovable. We love people who are generally happy and also attracted to them. It’s not that happy people do not have problems, face difficult situations, or challenges. They go all of that, just like you and me. But, they know exactly how to not let these external factors define their state of mind. They are happy because they chose to be happy. You can, too!