In this post I talked about why I like to view happiness as a skill. I talked about the fact that there are things that you can do in your day to day life to increase your wellbeing, however I didn't share what those things are, so here are 8 habits that you can build to increase the happiness in your life.
Please see this post for a disclaimer on the difference between mental health and happiness and where these habits fit into that puzzle. Please also remember that I am not perfect and I do not do all of these things all of the time. What I do know though is that the more I incorporate these habits into my life the happier I am, so even if you only pick a couple of habits from this list to work on, I hope they help.
(Most of these I have learnt from either The Science of Wellbeing or The Minimalists)
Sleep Well. One of the most common reasons we may be so unhappy in our modern lives is if we are consistently sleep deprived. Research shows that sleep can improve your mood more than we often expect. Personally, I don't struggle to get 8 hours of sleep most nights but I do notice significant differences in my mood when I don't.
Exercise regularly. Obvious I know, but psychological studies have suggested that regular exercise can be as effective as antidepressants. There are dozens of different ways that you can exercise so if you don't like running then don't, you won't improve your mental wellbeing by torturing yourself; find a form of exercise that you love and try to do it a few times a week. I have personally felt much better since I started focusing my exercise on improving my mental health rather than improving my physical health. I am still guilty of slacking for weeks (sometimes months) at a time but I cannot tell you how much more noticeably happier I am when I am exercising regularly.
Socialise (with the right people). Studies show that humans are sociable animals and both causal interactions such as saying hello to people on the train and deeper interactions such as meaningful conversations with friends have been shown to significantly increase our happiness. So, as reluctant as you may be if you are an introvert like me, be more sociable. I cannot tell you have many times I have felt like I cannot be ‘bothered’ to go to a party, but once I am there and surrounded by friends, I am laughing loudly and feel thankful that I chose to attend. However it is important to socialise with the right people. Socialising with people that you do not naturally get on with does little for you, so make the effort to find people that you can connect with and organise to hang out with them instead. That is where you will find the magic.
Practice Gratitude. To me, gratitude is about appreciating all the things that are going right in my life, even when it feels like the majority of things are going wrong. By noticing these things we can have better perspective in our lives and feel more content. Personally I have found that practicing gratitude has helped me to better appreciate some of the seemingly mundane things in my life such as watching TV with friends or sitting in a coffee shop. I really enjoy these things and now I am able to remind myself when I am feeling depressed that even if it feels like the world is crumbling around me, I still have lots of these little things to enjoy. In order to truly feel the benefits though you have to actively practice gratitude; this means regularly taking the time to think about what you are grateful for. The easiest way to do this is to keep a gratitude journal where you list three things that you are grateful for each day.
Go outside. I don’t really understand the science behind it but an hour lying on the grass in the sunshine does incredible things for my mood. I cannot deny it any longer. I really enjoy just sitting in the sunshine, especially if I have a good book to read and if that’s lame, I don’t care.
Minimalism. This is the practice of removing the physical and emotional clutter from your life so that you can put more time and energy into the things you really care about. Minimalism increases happiness by reducing friction and decision fatigue as well as giving you more time and money to do the things you enjoy. Minimalism can also increase your contentedness by helping you to appreciate what you already have and to want less of what you don't have. Furthermore, see this post about why you should spend your money on experiences instead of material goods if you want to increase your wellbeing.
Journal. I have to admit that I haven’t heard of any hard proof that journaling is beneficial for your wellbeing but I know that it has certainly changed my life for the best. The more regularly I journal, the happier I am. For me journaling allows me to be introspective and think about the things that are bothering in a constructive way, instead of having thoughts circle around my head without ever reaching answers.
Be more productive. In Mark Mansons’ ‘The Subtle of Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ he suggests that instead of happiness and success lying beyond the obstacles in our life, they lie in the overcoming of our obstacles. Therefore he suggests that we will feel the most fulfilled when we are constantly completing goals, instead of believe that one set of goals will leave us eternally happy.
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