Lifehacks To Increase Your Happiness

Author Josiah MotleyPosted on 3 min read
Happiness is an interesting topic because so many of us define it in different ways. To some, it’s financial success, to others it is a big family, but at the end of the day most of us just “want to be happy.” We have no real way of describing what that happiness is, however. We strive for it, we let the pursuit of happiness blind us to the happiness we’re already feeling.

Happiness

One thing is certain, however: we all want to be happier. And while your mileage may vary, here are some tried-and-true tips that have worked for others. We’ve compiled a list of different things you can implement easily into your life to help achieve those goals.

Sleep more: You’ve heard this your whole life, it’s time to implement it. Getting more sleep will not only improve your mornings, but you will be less susceptible to negative emotions throughout the day. Getting more sleep is only one side of the coin. You need to get better sleep, as well. Cut out the caffeine in the evenings. Exercise in the evening is a tossup, however, some people sleep better afterwards while others do not.

Learn something every day: “My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had — everyday I’m learning something new.” – Richard Branson. Challenging yourself and learning something new everyday not only helps in your business life, but in your personal life, as well. Learning new things actually creates new neural synapses in your brain, and this neural stimulation increases confidence and satisfaction levels.

Make time for friends and family: Yes, those deadlines are important and the long grind of the workweek tends to make us antisocial on the weekends, but do not let work control your life. There have been multiple studies that show spending time with friends and loved ones directly correlates to our levels of happiness. As Daniel Gilbert puts it, “We are happy when we have family, we are happy when we have friends and almost all the other things we think make us happy are actually just ways of getting more family and friends.”

Help others: While it may seem counter intuitive, helping others will actually help you with your happiness. And it doesn’t take much! One study said by simply helping others for 100 hours a year (2 hours a week) you can increase your happiness and enrich your life.

Manage expectations: “When you have expectations, you are setting yourself up for failure.” – Ryan Reynolds. Now, I’m not sure that I’d go as far to say don’t have any expectations, but managing expectations into reasonable milestones and tasks is key. You have to be realistic about these things.Setting goals that are out of reach will simply lead to disappointment and hinder happiness.

There is no big secret to happiness. It is what we make it. But you can use the tips above to help set yourself up for finding that happiness. A tired, grumpy person is much less likely to find happiness than a well-rested individual. While scheduling your day sounds like the most unhappy thing ever, work on getting into a routine to maintain a healthy sleep pattern and “afterwork” activities.