Many people spend their lives waiting to be happy. You might assume that obtaining more money, becoming thinner, or whatever else it may be would result in you feeling content.
Discover the key to happiness right here: you can experience joy now! It can be challenging at times, yet you can opt to be joyful. Most of the time, the only person who can block you from experiencing delight is you.
Genuine contentment does not stem from amassing a substantial amount of wealth, physical attractiveness, or having an ideal relationship. Happiness comes from within. If you want to attain joy, it is essential to focus on your own development first.
Is It Possible to Feel Happiness Again?
We attempt to preserve this difficult-to-achieve emotion and block out whatever could bring about distress.
It is impossible to know what lies ahead, and by trying to avoid potential harm to our joy, we may cause ourselves to become more despondent and miserable than we were before.
How do you find your joy again?
How to Be Happy Again When Life Gets You Down
1. Be present more often.
Now is the only time that truly matters, and if you can find delight or satisfaction in it, you will have established the basis for a fulfilled existence.
It’s not easy to be aware of every single moment of life. Make an effort to be in the moment more often, and you will find your joy will increase.
Being mindful involves focusing on the current moment, whether it is engaging in activities such as brushing your teeth or talking to a friend. It’s difficult to think deeply about what is causing you distress when you are concentrating on doing something.
Practicing meditation is an excellent way to help build the capacity for mindfulness. It allows you to take pleasure in what’s happening currently and to stop being concerned with any problems from the past or worries you have about the future.
2. Write down how you feel on a regular basis.
This can aid you in detaching yourself from your depressive feelings, so that you can evaluate them and monitor the feelings associated with them.
Keep a mood journal and track your shifting emotions. Attempt to figure out what could cause pessimistic musings and unhappy emotions. Look for associations that become patterns.
Some of the behaviors that commonly contribute to unhappiness and that you can work on changing include:
- Rumination: Allowing yourself to think on and on about a negative or painful situation.
- Unrealistic Expectations: Creating expectations about people and getting disappointed when they don’t materialize.
- Comparisons: Comparing your unhappy life to the lives of others who appear to have it all.
- All or Nothing Thinking: Assuming that because your life is one way right now that it will always be this way.
3. Start exercising.
Repeated investigations have shown that regular physical activity boosts your emotional wellbeing by releasing endorphins. It is the easiest way of attempting to regain your happiness. We understand that when you are not feeling good, it can feel like a big job to exercise.
Try not to focus on it and just start doing something. Go for a stroll around the neighbourhood or do some jumping jacks – anything that can set you in motion.
Once you overcome the resistance encountered when starting something new, it will be much easier to establish a pattern of behavior. Avoiding activities and just sitting idle when you’re feeling low is among the worst decisions you can make.
4. Reconnect with old friends.
Isolation has become pandemic with an ability to present feelings of sadness and distress. Since the start of the pandemic, many of us have become estranged from our friends and had fewer opportunities for socializing.
Try to make an active attempt to hang out with people more now that the pandemic is decreasing and limitations are being removed. Research has shown that interacting with others can lead to greater levels of happiness, improved memory and brain functions, and even a longer life.
When you meet up with old acquaintances, it is probable that you’ll go back to the place you left off and acquire an increase of positive emotions. Don’t isolate yourself. Connect with other people, even when you don’t feel like being sociable.
5. Start a new project.
Beginning a new endeavor will give you a feeling of intent, and when it is finished, you will experience a feeling of accomplishment.
Dealing with something of medium difficulty will put you in a peaceful, fulfilled mindset while doing it. Moments vanish, your concentration is total, therefore you have no capacity for obsessive thinking.
As you dedicate time and effort to your project, you’ll experience the satisfying feeling of accomplishment when you have achieved the desired outcome.
6. Find a new hobby.
Attempt something you have not experienced before, even something you wouldn’t assume you would take pleasure in. You can never predict who you might come across or the new interests you could discover.
Having a pastime can bolster your interpersonal relationships and make you a person of greater intrigue. Having an activity that can be somewhat difficult can also cause you to be in the meditative and relaxed state previously mentioned.
When engaging in an activity that you enjoy, and requires focus, you will naturally be in a state of joy and contentment.
7. Get outside.
Get some sunlight every day. Using natural light as a remedy can be beneficial when you’re experiencing a slump in your mood.
Especially during the colder season, folks who struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can benefit from spending time in the sunshine. Exposure to the sun encourages the production of serotonin, the brain chemical responsible for a sense of happiness.
Going for a stroll and immersing yourself in the natural world can improve your spirit and make you feel connected to your environment and other people.
8. Get into a good book.
Visit a book shop and select a popular book that arouses your curiosity. Books can provide an escape from reality and an opportunity to gain new knowledge.
Make sure you select a subject matter that is not depressing or distressing. A funny novel, an intriguing and motivating autobiography, or even a self-growth book that assists you in developing some part of your life are all excellent selections.
9. Help other people.
People with the most joyous outlooks are those who improve the lives of other individuals. Assisting others can bring you a newfound feeling of exhilaration.
You don’t have to save the world. Doing something nice for others can give you an emotional lift. By doing this, you will understand that other people are also struggling and experiencing distress in their lives. You aren’t alone.
Being there for a person who is going through hard times can show you that your own difficulties are not as bad as they seem, and it will also remind you of all the positives in your life.
Which brings us to the next point.
10. Practice gratitude.
Studies are ongoing which continue to prove that regularly expressing thankfulness can help better psychological wellbeing, and its positive effects can continue for several months.
Give consideration to what you are grateful for in each and every area of your life. It is impossible to be despondent if you are intentionally expressing gratitude.
Expressing gratitude towards beloved people in the form of letters is an excellent way to increase the good vibrations that accompany gratefulness. Inform them of the ways in which they have had a positive influence on your life. Writing correspondence such as this can have a powerful influence on your attitude.
You can also write down all the things that give you a feeling of thankfulness in a journal devoted to gratitude. Make sure that you pay attention to how it makes you feel to be grateful as opposed to just writing out a list.
What’s the secret to being happy? You have the capacity to acquire this skill, much like any other. People who are full of joy adhere to a particular group of customs that bring tranquility to their lives; if you learn to incorporate these habits in your own existence, it is likely that you too will be joyful.
This article has listed 13 specific behaviors that can increase your life satisfaction and pleasure.
1. Let go of grudges.
It is essential to release bad feelings in order to have joy in life. When one holds onto bitterness, they are essentially harboring resentment, annoyance, injury, and other pessimistic feelings that impede their own satisfaction. Releasing any resentment liberates you from feelings of hostility and makes room for feelings of pleasure and satisfaction.
2. Treat everyone with kindness.
Showing kindness has been demonstrated to have a beneficial impact on one’s happiness, in addition to being likely to be replicated by those around you. When you act in a generous and compassionate way, your body produces feel-good chemicals that link to emotions like happiness. This encourages other people to form strong connections with you, and you both get to enjoy the pleasant sensations.
3. Regard your problems as challenges.
Shift your internal conversational pattern so any time you face an issue, you view it as an invitation to step up and make your life better. Eliminate the word “problem” from your mind entirely.
4. Express gratitude for what you have.
Individuals who appreciate the possessions in their lives are more capable of managing anxiety, possess brighter outlooks, and are more successful in achieving their ambitions. The most advantageous means of taking advantage of the beneficial strength of thankfulness is to maintain a record of gratitude or make a compilation, where you thoughtfully note precisely what you give thanks for each day. Engaging in such activities has correlated with improved spirits, an optimistic outlook, and even better physical health.
5. Dream big.
Plan for the future on an ambitious scale, as this will give you a greater chance of reaching your objectives. Rather than setting a cap on what you can do, when you dream big you are inviting a more hopeful and upbeat mind-set to come in, in which you are capable of accomplishing almost anything you want to.
6. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
If the matter that is causing you to be angry will no longer be important in a year, month, week, or even a matter of hours, why make it into a huge concern? Content people are able to ignore the little annoying things that occur in their life.
7. Speak well of others.
It might seem fun to hang around the office water cooler to get and swap stories, but speaking negatively about others is the same as immersing yourself in unhappy feelings; they will seep into your being. Emphasize speaking positively and kindly about other people, and you will also promote more constructive thoughts in your own life.
8. Avoid making excuses.
Making excuses and pointing fingers at others for your shortcomings will not help you overcome them and achieve success. People who are contentment take ownership of their errors and misjudgments, then use the failure as a chance to make enhancements to their lives.
9. Live in the present.
Give yourself permission to submerge yourself in what you are doing in this exact moment and take the opportunity to really be here in the now. Do not think back to negative experiences that have occurred in the past or concern yourself with what the future may bring; instead, enjoy the present moment.
10. Wake up at the same time every morning.
Rising at the same hour every day (optimally earlier in the morning) looks simple but is actually quite tricky. Carrying out this action will give your body’s internal clock a boost, allowing you to wake up more easily and feel more alert. Making it a habit to get up early on a daily basis is something that a lot of successful individuals do, as it increases your efficiency and concentration.
11. Don’t compare yourself to others.
Do not evaluate your own worth by looking at how others are doing. Your life is one of a kind, and it should not be compared to those who are around you. Having a feeling of superiority towards your peers is detrimental to your wellbeing, since it produces feelings of being critical and an unmarked outlook of being greater than everyone else. Judge your accomplishment by how far you have come, not by how far someone else has gone.
12. Surround yourself with positive people.
The saying “misery loves company” is entirely true. You should befriend people who are filled with hope and cheer, so you are enveloped in a cheerful atmosphere.
13. Take time to listen.
Hearing what other people have to say can enable you to assimilate their insight and simultaneously silence the disarray in your head. Focusing closely on what is being said can leave you feeling satisfied while also allowing you to take on different points of view.
A Healthy Lifestyle Naturally Enhances Happiness
You may have observed that many of the practices of content individuals correspond with the basics of leading a healthy life – such as exercising and consuming balanced meals. Once you get into the habit of looking for happiness, and even before you do, engaging in beneficial activities can help keep your spirits high even during tense times. Happy people tend to be healthy people, and vice versa, so in addition to healthy food and exercise, the following lifestyle strategies can also help to support emotional wellness:
- Proper Sleep: Sleep deprivation is linked to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and bipolar depression, while getting the right amount of sleep has been linked to positive personality characteristics such as optimism and greater self-esteem, as well as a greater ability to solve difficult problems.
- Animal-based Omega-3 Fats: Low concentrations of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA are known to increase your risk for mood swings and mood disorders. Those suffering from depression have been found to have lower levels of omega-3 in their blood, compared to non-depressed individuals. Krill oil is my preferred source of omega-3 fats.
- Regular Sun Exposure: This is essential for vitamin D production, low levels of which are linked to depression. But even beyond vitamin D, regular safe sun exposure is known to enhance mood and energy through the release of endorphins.
- Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT): If difficult life circumstances and the negative emotions they create are making happiness hard to come by, try EFT, which is a form of do-it-yourself psychological acupressure. This simple technique can help clear your body and mind of negative emotions so you can implement positive goals and habits more easily in your life.
