6 simple steps to be happy
Happiness is something we all strive for, along with health, wealth, and success. However, finding happiness in everyday life can be a daunting task. Happiness is an emotional state that can appear for a short time, or be affected by many other problems in work and life.
In this guide, we’ll help you discover what happiness is, how to find happiness within yourself, and simple steps you can take to feel happier on a regular basis.
What is happiness?
Happiness is the mental state of experiencing positive or pleasant emotions.
Many people define happiness as an intense feeling of joy, which can make it difficult for us to find happiness in our daily lives. In fact, there are many levels of happiness, starting with a sense of satisfaction, and finally with exhilarating elation.
Many people set themselves the task of achieving exhilarating happiness on a regular basis, and this often ends in frustration. Instead of being happy, try focusing on satisfaction.
What is satisfaction?
Satisfaction is the mental state of experiencing satisfaction in the present state. It is often felt when practicing mindfulness, or feeling comfortable in the mind, body, and surroundings.
Although we all experience a range of emotions every day, finding satisfaction on a regular basis is very helpful. Next time you have tea, or sit back after finishing a piece of work, give yourself a minute or two to experience comfort in your body, mind, and with your daily accomplishments.
How to find happiness in yourself
We’ve introduced you to the concept of satisfaction, followed by six steps for anyone who wants to feel more positive in their daily lives. Restructuring how you view happiness and where you get it can be simple changes that make a difference. Here’s a six-step process for feeling happier in life and work:
Stop chasing happiness
Many people assume that happiness must be linked to the achievement of certain goals or aspirations. This makes happiness a reward, not an emotion worthy of being felt every day.
Instead of chasing the goal, which is happiness, allow yourself to feel happy whenever it comes your way.
Removing barriers to happiness
Putting happiness on external goals will make you fall into the habit of thinking uselessly. When placing your happiness on something external, you may forget that the feeling of happiness is something that comes from within, and can be found by looking within, rather than waiting for an external action to “trigger” it.
Try restructuring how you approach happiness, instead of making it a long-awaited goal, consider what makes you happy on a regular basis. It could be time with family, friends or relatives, or doing a certain activity, such as painting, biking, or cooking.
Allow happy moments to be involved in your life on a regular basis.
Practice looking inside
The third step is to practice looking within, with the aim of discovering happiness from within. This is an activity that requires time and effort, but creates a worthwhile habit.
Start regularly checking in and determining how you’re feeling. If you’re stressed, try implementing a stress management strategy, or if you feel like you can take better care of yourself, try setting up a self-care plan.
Build self-esteem
Once you’ve started examining inside yourself, you can also begin to address any issues that might be troubling you. Often, problems on the inside can lower self-esteem, so you should take time to take care of yourself.
The National Health Service (NHS) notes that focusing on self-esteem can make you happy, “The best way to improve self-esteem is to treat yourself as you would treat a friend, in a positive but honest way.”
This is a great way to consider how you take care of yourself, especially when you’re doing it for yourself. Thinking of yourself as your best boss, or best friend, can help you reshape the way you treat yourself and allow you to treat yourself in a kinder, fairer way.
And most of all, allow yourself to get hurt, even at work. Taking notes of your problems or weaknesses is an important first step in finding support or completely fixing your problems.
Mindfulness
Similar to the practice of looking within, spending time practicing mindfulness will allow you to truly take in your surroundings and connect with your emotions on a deeper level. Practicing mindfulness in the workplace is becoming a new strategy that businesses like Google and Facebook are encouraging their employees to implement, so you may want to try practicing mindfulness with yourself or with your work team.
Mindfulness allows you to experience happiness on a more regular basis and on a deeper level.
Take time to appreciate yourself
The final step in the six-step process is to take time to appreciate yourself. Appreciate your work, your life, and your accomplishments. You can find happiness by simply thinking about past happenings, some of which will lead to achievements, and others to think of it simply as pleasant experiences.
If you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur, try thinking about your journey on a regular basis. It’s easy to get carried away with future plans and forget how well you did before. By focusing on past experiences, you will not only re-experience the emotions at certain milestones, but you will also find ways to improve yourself and your business.
We hope that this guide has provided you with simple steps to find happiness on a more regular basis. If there’s only one thing you can take away from this post, it’s recognizing that you have the power to feel happiness inside you, and with practice, happiness can be felt more often. We believe that a happy business is made up of happy individuals. Taking care of yourself and those around you can allow you to be more productive and find success in business.
If you want support on your journey to feeling happier, check out Happy You, Happy Workplace. Learn more via email
phung.metta@metta.com.vn
for the best advice.
Metta Marketing
Top brand strategy consultant
