Four Easy Ways to Boost Your Happiness

If you would like to increase your happiness, it’s easier than you might think. Here are four things you can do every day:

Pay attention to when you feel happy

You likely feel happy, satisfied and at peace more than you realize. Pay closer attention to the times you feel confident, appreciative or when you’re enjoying what you’re doing. If you want more happiness, notice how much you have already. Why not keep a journal for a month and document your times of happiness, fulfillment and sense of progress?

Be solution oriented

Train your brain and subconscious mind to use complaints, frustrations and setback moments as triggers to shift into solution mode thinking. Tell yourself, “This is my opportunity to practice finding solutions instead of focusing on what’s wrong.” We see what we look for and focus on—look for solutions and you will find them everywhere. This isn’t about ignoring or denying problems in life—it’s about acknowledging them and finding ways to work around them or to turn them into opportunities to learn, grow and transform.

Begin each day by finding 1-3 things that make you feel good

Increasing our happiness is easier than most people think. Every morning, take 30-60 seconds to review the day before and identify 1-3 things that make you feel grateful, happy, excited, peaceful or motivated for the day. Remembering the good cup of coffee or tea you had the day before or the compliment you received at work is easy to do but has powerful results. 

Read or listen to something that gives you positive energy

We can’t control what’s on the news or the internet and we can’t stop people from complaining. We can do our best to limit our exposure to these things but we need to do more than that. Read a book, watch a webinar, listen to an audio, watch a video—do something every day to nurture your happiness by giving your mind and spirit what they need for happiness, fulfillment and purpose. When you find a book or other resource that helps you, read or listen to it multiple times because the first exposure will help you, but the second or fifth time around will help you even more. 

- Alan Allard, Executive Coach