The Surprising yet Simple Habits of Happier People!
What separates the happier people from the rest? How we feel and how we see our life isn’t a random coincidence. Happiness is not a birthright, it’s not inherited, and it’s not a lottery win. Every day we all either make the decision to be a happier person, or we don’t. Happiness is not linked to wealth or poverty, although of course, some degree of financial security and social stability does help. But even if everyone lived in equal conditions, that wouldn’t automatically make everyone happy. Happiness is an attitude. The good news in all this is that each and every one of us has the power to decide every day whether we want to be happy or not. In this article, we’ll show you 11 surprising but simple habits that separate happier people out from the crowd.
1. Starting the day with a coffee
And here’s the good news for all coffee lovers! Studies have now shown that moderate daily coffee consumption can effectively counteract the risk of developing depression. In terms of numbers, coffee drinkers have a 20% lower risk of becoming depressed, and a 53% lower risk of attempting suicide. The main reason for this is that caffeine stimulates our body to increase the dopamine levels in our brain. And more dopamine means more feeling happy.
2. Using the power of nature
This isn’t really a secret anymore, but sunlight, fresh air, the calming effects of a lush green field, mystical forests, and lakes have a positive effect on our physical and mental wellbeing. If light exercise is added into the mix, happiness hormones are also released. Cortisol levels, on the other hand, which are responsible for stress, drop. Spending time in the forest in particular has decidedly positive effects on our body and soul. It doesn’t have to be forest bathing, which seems to be the in thing right now. Just going for a walk every day can do huge amounts for your overall happiness.
3. Thinking positive
This wasn’t a popular slogan for T-shirts, hats and whatever else you like for years for no reason. A positive mindset basically controls every minute of our day. If you can manage to push negative thoughts aside and replace them with positive ones, or at least neutral ones, you can give your life a completely new direction. There are countless tips and tricks out there for how you can confidently escape a negative thought pattern.
4. Gratitude is key
Gratitude is more valuable to a happy life than we can describe in words. It is the key to the promised land, the basis for everything good and beautiful, and it’s completely free. If you want to attract more happiness and prosperity into your life, you simply have to be grateful for everything that you already have. The happiest people often keep a gratitude journal. Every day they write down at least 3 things that they’re grateful for. It can be things as big as health, security and family, but there’s also nothing wrong with being grateful for finding a place to sit on the bus or getting the last piece of cake from the bakery. The power of gratitude comes from simply being grateful. It’s not a question of how much or what form it takes. A quick prayer from time to time also wouldn’t hurt if you’ve been rather unlucky recently, or if you’ve narrowly escaped from what could have been a disaster.
5. Setting realistic goals on paper
New Year’s resolutions made half-heartedly under the influence of champagne, usually only semi-consciously, make us genuinely unhappy. Having said that, there is a variant that has the opposite effect. A study from the University of California shows that people who write down their goals achieve more than people who don’t, or than those who only verbalize them. When we handwrite our goals out on paper, the success rate is higher, and the resulting sense of achievement is a powerful boost for our happiness. If there is a goal that you want to achieve in life, grab a pen and paper, or a nice postcard and write down all the details of your personal targets. It can be anything, big or small. Size doesn’t matter. However, it is worth focusing on specific and realistic steps, and not trying to take on the whole world straight away.
6. Meditation as a daily ritual
The world has known about the power of meditation for a long time. But we always seem to associate it with orange-robed monks in Tibet. However, praying with rosary beads, singing in Gregorian chant, sitting around a campfire and walking in silence also count as meditation. If you’re not open to the thought of any of these, just stare out the window in silence for 10 minutes. Even so blatantly doing nothing harbors enormous potential for drawing new energy and strength into your day. Happy people almost always practice some sort of meditation, even if they don’t realize it.
7. Blues for lifting spirits
It sounds completely counterintuitive but listening to sad music actually lifts our mood. Another hormone is at work here. Studies have shown that listening to sad music can significantly increase our prolactin levels. This means that the melancholic tunes have a comforting effect on our souls.
8. Expressing their feelings in writing
Diary writing is an art form that has unfortunately been completely forgotten. It’s gone out of fashion over the years. But not only does it have an excellent therapeutic effect on us, but it even triggers feelings of happiness. Writing down our thoughts and feelings by hand every day helps to relieve stress and arrange our thoughts. This way, you can calm your strong emotions and it even helps you to process them.
9. Marveling at the world
We should all allow ourselves one “wow” a day. We probably can't all enjoy the spectacular view from the top of a mountain every day but seeing the wonderful in the mundane, even just by cloud gazing or looking at the stars, is a huge factor for our happiness that’s often overlooked.
10. Spending money on others
Spending money on ourselves only manages to give us an emotional boost for a very short space of time. But if we donate money to a good cause, slip a street performer a few coins, or buy a homeless person a cup of coffee, that can lift our spirits for the whole rest of the day. Doing nice things for others is something that significantly boosts our own happiness levels.
11. Reading life’s unusual stories
Adventures can also take place in our heads, and they can make us happy even if we don’t actually experience them ourselves. Reading the biographies of explorers and pioneers, researchers or other extraordinary people can make us happy ourselves.
Today’s conclusion: Happiness is made from a daily dose of smaller things
These 11 simple habits show just how easy it can be to create your own happiness. Combining these happiness habits with your daily routine is neither time nor cost intensive. And just like with any new worthwhile habit, consistency is key.