1. Love yourself
You’re studying, you’re working, you’re worrying, you’re sorting out your life and seeing where you need to be next, you are just trying to make the best out of your life. But have you made yourself the best you’ve been? When did you last buy those roses you eye everyday? When did you last be your own best friend? Can you remember the last time you took care of yourself? If it’s been longer than a day, it’s time to change that. You are the best friend you can have. Give yourself the best love you can every day. Be it a longer shower, a ridiculous movie, a pastry you know you shouldn’t be eating, a walk in the park, a day at the beach, a quick preview of that book you haven’t gotten to, writing that article you’re so passionate about, or watching a scandalous reality show, whatever it is, as long as you love it. For, to love yourself is the first step to life long happiness.
2. Say Hi to the Outside World
The phone has become our instant mini world. We keep it out so often that we miss out on the real world. Every morning or evening or night put away your phone consciously for about 15 minutes and look around you. Notice the trees, the cars, the fountain, the houses and every time you do, I can bet that you’d see something you’ve never seen before. If nothing else, just walk or drive or take the subway and notice things around you, just for the sake of it, just because you can and because Facebook will always be there (presumably) but your surroundings might not.
3. Absorb Like a Child
We look so much yet we gather so little. Every time you are out and about, don’t just ‘look’, observe. Observe the things around you, nature, concrete, humans, everything! The tilt of the trees, the fashion on the streets, the building in despair and everything in air. Observe like a child would. Why? Well, why not!?And when you do, you’ll realize that there is so much more life in the concrete, so many more emotions in nature and so much more warmth in humans than we thought there was and there is so much more to the way back home than just a subway stop
4. Sing to the Tunes of Your Body
Listen to your body, closely and carefully. Listen to your mind, your gut, your intuition. Everyday your body talks to you, responds to you. The sleep it gets, the food it consumes, the surroundings it faces, with every passing minute your body responds. Listen to what it says, is it telling to slow down? To take a break? To eat? To sleep? The more you push yourself the more you tire your body, the lesser you listen to yourself.If nothing else listen to your body to be the best at work. Respond to its needs and your body in turn will reward you with healthy system and sharper brain and a happier mind.
5. Let Go of Your Mistakes
So you made a mistake. That time you shouldn’t have called, the best friend you no longer talk to, your mom who you might have ignored or that dog you couldn’t help. It’s been days, if not weeks and it’s still eating at you. We all make mistakes some grave other small but a mistake none the less. Forgive yourself. You are much more than your mistakes. Your mistakes never have and can never define you, you are the only one who can define yourself. So let go of that burden you have to live with and make space in your heart and mind for better memories and maybe different mistakes because with every mistakes and every lesson, you’ve learnt to do something right. Happiness is not just about your achievements, it’s also the lessons your learnt from your mistakes.
6. Love Yourself for Who You are Today
Wherever you are in life right now, is what you have and what you can work with, what you can change, what you can improve. Love yourself, your perfect, flawed self. Yesterday is mere memory and tomorrow is a hope, a plan but still just a figment of your imagination. Today, wherever you are, however you are, you’re one step closer to tomorrow. And if you want, one step closer to where you want to be. Don’t let yesterday, a mere figment of your memories hold you back. Recognize the power of today and live in the present for there is no force more powerful than a happy mind working today.
7. Cut Out the Negative Baggage
Every negative vibe that you’ve felt, for every snarky criticism that you didn’t deserve, every unprompted shaming or name calling that you’ve endured, leaves you a little scared, a little hesitant, a little unsure. A lot of these, tear down your spirit and cut short your creativity, even hampering with your self-worth, and your self-esteem. Shun them. Let go of all the people in your life who make you feel anything less than the perfect and able individual that you know you are. It might be difficult to do so, but do it for your happiness, for we all deserve nothing but the best and we owe it to ourselves to surround ourselves with people who believe the same.
8. “Health is Wealth”
Work will always be there. Be it at home, in college, at the office, wherever it is, there will always be something to do. Another sad truth of life is that at a work place no one is indispensable. Working hard just enable us a little more security of our ability and bank balance but that’s it. The only thing that is indispensable to you is your health. Going back to the adage ‘no health, no wealth’, without a healthy lifestyle, a healthy body, mind and soul, your work, your home but more importantly you suffer. Take up habits that enable you to have a healthy lifestyle and a healthier body,mind and soul. The healthier you are the happier you’ll be. Eat right, exercise more, take breaks often to relieve stress and take up a hobby that give you joy. The healthier you are, the happier you’ll be.
9. Listen to The Food Gods
With every meal you skip a blood cell dies. No, that’s not at all true, but it could be. The point is you need to eat to be productive and happy. Eat anything but eat something. A fruit, a sandwich, a burrito, whatever you fancy, but eating makes you healthier and happier and then you can kick ass at work! Every time you get an urge to skip food, think of how awkward it would be to have your tummy growl loudly when you’re presenting the material that you skipped food for.
10. Breathe
Every day is a cacophony of motion. The bus, the neighbor, the work place, the colleagues, the deli, everything is loud screaming to be heard and yearning to be ahead. It’s overwhelming and constantly in your face.Well then, how do you get ahead, how do you get happy? By breathing. One breathe at a time. Tune everything out and breathe. Just give yourself a minute and breathe, live in that minute and breathe. To live is to hear the noise, to live happily is to be able to breathe and flourish in those noises, to be loud enough to be louder than the other voices, and breathe enough to be ahead of them all.
11. Find your Happy Place
Remember when as children we used to hide inside our forts? We used to be so happy, so content. What happened to that? Why did we let go? Not because we got older, but because we got busier.We found excuses to escape feeling. Find your happy place, it could be your home, a park, your room, your kitchen anything, as long as it makes you happy. The ‘Happy Place’ as ridiculous as it may sound, is simply a space that lets you be vulnerable, insecure and emotional. For you, to be able to put aside your brave facade and let it all out. Every day visit your happy place,let go of everything that’s made you unhappy and feel the happiness seeping into your body. Let your happiness, your happy memories, your happy smiles just infiltrate every part of your body and then quipped with happy thoughts and a happy place go and face the brutal world.
12. Go Out and Play
The sun, unless you’re in India, in 49 degree weather, makes everything happier, even your body. You get vitamin D, you can ditch the tanning salon, and most of all you get to connect with Mother Nature, be closer to the system that provides for all your basic needs. Be it a walk, or exercising or soccer or taking your dog out, whatever it is find an excuse to embrace the sun. To feel it’s warmth and the light it spreads to everyone on the planet.
13. Acknowledge Your Emotions
When you’re upset, or angry, or sad recognize it, acknowledge it and eliminate it. Most of us recognize our emotions but tend to ignore then in a pursuit of being ‘cool’. Today the idea of emotions has become so overwhelming that we hide from them instead of acknowledging them. They get so bottled up that then we lash out, especially at our loved ones and then wonder ‘where did all that come from’. The trick to avoid that is to face your emotions everyday, resolve them everyday and then let go of them everyday. Everyday till you start doing it subconsciously, making you happier, more aware and a little more in control of your life.
14. Stop Comparing
Everyone has their shares of trouble, failures and success. More often than not we see people only at the peak of their careers, in less than a moment we assume that they are in some way ‘better’. That they did something that you haven’t, or that they are generally better than you. Take that thought and dump it out in the farthest garbage truck and never look for it again. Everyone is different. Some blossom faster, some slower, but everyone is unique and so are you. If you’re not where you want to be just yet, well, then work towards it. Success is never the end goal, it’s just a perception. Some people see success in raising happy kids, some see it in that bird house they made, some see it in the grades they got, some see it in their bank balance. Your success is how you define it and that defines your path to your happiness.
15. Be Content
Always remember, especially if you have the means to read this article, that you have something more than someone else. That, whatever you have, no matter how little it may seem to you, is more than what someone else has. No matter what your gender is, what your ethnicity, where you’re from or what you believe in, always be content with how much you have. Be content with what you have and move forward. Being content is not synonymous with being complacent. To be ahead you cannot be complacent but to be happy you must learn to be content.
