Welcome to Part Two of my posts on happiness: 6 (More) Ways to Be Ridiculously Happy! Part One is here.
Writing about happiness and living magically is my favourite thing to do and something I want to do more of, so thank you for leaving feedback yesterday and letting me know that you enjoy reading this kind of thing. There’s definitely lots more I want to share on this blog, so let’s launch straight in with a few more golden tips, shall we?
1. Visualise your dream life.
Grab a pen and a piece of paper and get scribbling. Jot down all your wildest, hugest dreams – let your mind go crazy with the possibilities! Think of the end result. Don’t attach to unimportant details, just wrap yourself up in the joy you feel when your most potent dreams are unleashed on the page in front of you. Create a killer vision board and review it daily. Repeat after me: “Miracles are happening every day. Everything I’ve ever wanted is on it’s way to me now. The hard work is done and I’m completely open to the spectacular beauty unfolding all around me. I AM BLESSED IN SO MANY WAYS.”
2. Have fun (and lots of it!)
Big, delicious, messy fun. Lift the veil of seriousness and get silly, why don’t ya?! Look at ways to incorporate a little more play into your life. Start a tickle war with someone, and try tell me you don’t feel a million times happier after you’ve squealed your head off. It’s impossible not to! Send a friend a funny email, grab a magazine and draw mustaches on everyone. Make up a silly song. Wear socks with cartoon characters on them. Walk like a lunatic around the house. Crank up a bit of R’n’B and crump in your underwear in front of the mirror. Pretend you’re in an old school aerobics video. Started consciously smiling. Smile in the car as you drive to work or on your morning walk. Smiling positively effects brain chemistry. Actually, do you know researchers have found that smiling is equal to the feel-good brain stimulation of 2000 chocolate bars? Did somebody say chocolate?!
3. Stop judging.
The main reason we judge is because we’re insecure. We want to make ourselves feel better by tearing someone else down or projecting our own fears/ issues/ inadequacies on them. We judge when we’re scared, when we feel intimidated or out of our depth. We judge when we see someone else having the courage to do something we wish we had the courage to do ourselves. Ouch. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, isn’t it? The good thing is, unhealthy habits can be broken. Take a vow to keep a close eye on your thoughts and push them in a positive direction. I love this from Mike Dooley: “If you could actually stand in someone else’s shoes to hear what they hear, see what they see, and feel what they feel, you would probably wonder what planet they live on, and be totally blown away by how different their reality is to yours. You’d also never, in a million years, be quick to judge again.” Remember how it feels to be judged and put an end to your judgemental behaviour today.
4. Healthy = happy!
Changing your diet and the way you treat your body has a profound and powerful effect on your overall happiness. Something shifts inside you when you commit to eating well, getting enough sleep, nourishing your spirit with meditation or relaxation and working up a sweat through exercise. Best. feeling. ever. Crank up your happiness by clearing the crap from your fridge, lacing up your sneakers, heading outdoors, and trawling virtual treasure troves for healthy recipes (Crazy Sexy Life, 101 Cookbooks and all the healthy foodie blogs under my Blogs to Bookmark tab are a great place to start). Abundant energy supplies and off-the-scale clarity can be yours SO easily. Clear the slate, and glow you good thing!
5. Recharge.
Motivation ebbs and flows in our lives. That’s a given. When your mojo really slumps and you feel overhwhelmed, your body is telling you to take a take a break. How many times have you pushed yourself to get something done to “get it out of your hair” and then felt disappointed or guilty about your output?
Earlier this year I was pushing myself pretty hard, trying to do everything and scattering my energy in a million different directions, and a few hormone tests revealed I had extremely low cortisol (stress hormone) levels, resulting from adrenal fatigue. Sound like you too? I’m trying (hard!) to listen to my body and take breaks when I need to rejuvenate (believe me, this is harder than it looks) and I’m making more of a conscious effort to remind myself that the world won’t stop spinning if I take a breather. The notion that ‘Breather = Boring’ is a fallacy. I’m definitely guility of believing in the past that without things to do, people to see and projects to complete, life would be… well, dull. I’m growing out of that belief now! Take the pressure off, relax, pamper yourself, jump in the car and head off on a road trip for the weekend with your nearest and dearest. A bit of R & R and a dose of self-forgiveness goes along way to boosting your happiness. Promise.
6. Honour your relationships.
Happy people spend more time working on and in their relationships. As a race, we humans feel happier when they’re in the company of other people. Strengthening our relationships and deepening our connections with others leaves us feeling gooood, so why shouldn’t we go out of our way to nurture those bonds more frequently? There’s this thing that happens for me whenever I don’t feel like doing something (let’s say, going out to dinner after a tiring week at work) – I always have the BEST time and come home with a full heart and a smile on my face. It’s such a nice reminder that everything else slips away when you’re spending quality time with good people.
Be generous with your loved ones. Think of generosity as a much bigger concept than buying your friend a nice birthday present or paying for a round of drinks on a night out. Generosity can mean inspiring someone when they’re feeling flat on life with an uplifting email or a thoughtful text, or doing something “just because” without expecting anything in return. It can mean really listening, offering to cook dinner for a friend who’s stressed about money or work or not coping with a new child or a sick family member. Generosity means thinking beyond the ‘self’ and genuinely putting someone else’s needs before your own. You’ll always feel happier for it.
+ So there you go! I’d love to know: what does ‘happiness’ mean to you?
+ What do you to keep happiness flowing steadily through your days? Talking about happiness quadruplifies (new word) it so tell me in the comments!
+ And finally, please feel free to ‘Share’ this post on Facebook if you think someone you know might benefit from it… the link to share is just below.
Images: 1. Elena Kalis 2. Reckless Means No Rules 3. 4. 101 Cookbooks 5. Beach Bungalow 8 6. Favim
I LOVE your blog! Witing about happiness is one of my favourite things too. Thank you for your beautiful tips.
I have learnt over the years (and am still learning) how to find happiness inside of me, rather than seeking it out in external things. I have found that my working to shift my perspective, cultivate appreciation and gratitude, and filling my life with lots of little things that bring me joy, is bringing ALOT more happiness as a result!
I also find that spreading inspirational messages through my writing, and reading other people’s inspiring words also fills me up with bubbles of happiness. Thank you! xxx
Hi Connie! I’m SUPER happy you stopped by because I’ve just taken a look at your blog and I adore it! I’m going to take some time to read through it properly, your articles look beautiful, thought-provoking, positive… and well, EXACTLY like the stuff I love to read. I especially love your description of your beautiful relationship (yay for you and your beloved!) as I feel exactly the same way about my fiance.
Thanks for your thoughts on happiness too, sooo true — there’s a way to find the light or joy in every situation and it all originates within. Spreading happiness is awesome, you’re doing such an amazing job by the looks of it! Thanks again for your comment lovely xxxx