Although I am a personal development blogger by profession, I am in no way a mental health professional. See my disclaimer for more info.
Happiness is the best emotion you could feel. I’m going to tell you all about how to be happy.
Happiness sure is amazing, but sometimes it can feel hard to come around. Am I right?!
I remember a period in my life where I felt pretty dull. I didn’t feel very happy because it seemed like everything was going “wrong.” And trust me — when you feel like that, happiness just isn’t very prevalent. Since then, though, I’ve thankfully entered a new state of mind and I feel happy much more often. Not only that, but I know certain things I can do to promote happiness and joy in my life.
If you’re in the same scenario or simply don’t feel happy, I’m here to guide you. You, as a human being, deserve to feel happiness. It’s truly the best emotion you could feel. So, keep reading to learn different ways to increase happiness.
this post is all about how to be happy.
How to Be Happy:
1. Change your perspective
I want you to change how you think about happiness. Chances are, you believe that it comes and goes, and that you have to do something special to feel the emotion.
But what if I told you that you were wrong?!
See, if you were always happy, it almost doesn’t feel as good. I know it’s a cliché saying, but it’s true!
It’s unrealistic to be happy all of the time. You need to appreciate the not-so-happy moments so you can enjoy the happy ones even more.
Also realize that you don’t have to do anything over the top to feel happy. You can do something as simple as indulge in a good book and experience joy!
2. Surround yourself with positive people
Choose your circle wisely.
Spending time with negative, judgmental, pessimistic people is SO draining. It drains your soul and the way you feel mentally.
These are the types of people who make it hard to be happy and, frankly, enjoy life. And they aren’t very fun to be around, either.
Instead, find people who genuinely want to see you win, and who uplift you. This will make you feel a lot better than those toxic people.
3. Practice self-care, regularly
Practicing self-care does wonders for your mental health. In particular, it promotes happiness because you’re doing things that bring you joy.
Self-care can occur in many forms for each individual person. For myself, I like to indulge in my favorite hobbies, like creating digital goods on Canva or reading a good book.
For you, though, self-care might look like taking an everything shower followed by watching the latest episode of your favorite Netflix series.
Whatever it is, prioritize self-care in your daily routine. It’s always worth it if it puts a smile on your face!
FREE SELF CARE ACTIVITIES LIST
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4. Indulge in your favorite hobbies
Hobbies are these little things that you indulge in when you have free time. There are SO many different ones to choose from, it’s almost overwhelming.
It can take time to find a hobby that you truly enjoy, but when you do, it’s life-changing. It’s so great to be able to look forward to something that you love.
Even though this blog isn’t a hobby, I always get happy when it’s time to work on it. I could spend hours doing different blogging tasks and it’s so fulfilling.
I want you to find something that brings you the same type of satisfaction. Maybe it’s:
- Singing
- Painting
- Sightseeing
- Baking
- Building things
- Doing DIY projects
- Crocheting
- Binge-watching old movies
- Creating digital products
- Reading blog posts like this one!
And that’s just a small list. If none of these sound interesting, check out this list of 67 hobbies to indulge in.
5. Slow comparison of yourself to others
Say it with me: comparison is the thief of joy. If you haven’t heard this saying, it means that when you compare something to something else, it takes away the greatness of that very thing.
I know when I compare myself to someone else, my mood instanly shifts — and not in a good way, either. Comparison is the worst thing you can do for your self-confidence and your mental health.
This could be anything, including:
- Your financial situation
- Your educational background
- Your looks
- Your sense of style
- Your creativity
- Where you are in life
And the list goes on and on! If you want to be happy, you can’t compare yourself to other people. You’re just wasting time and energy on that when you could be stregthening your sense of self-love instead.
And trust me — that’s so much more worthwhile!
Here’s one thing though: I say “slow” comparison because it’s going to happen regardless. We’re all human and comparison is a natural thing.
But what’s important is that you don’t let it control you or your decisions.
6. Celebrate others’ wins
You’re probably thinking: “Wait, how does celebrating other people make me happy?”
Well, how you do feel when you give somebody a gift? How does it feel when you see the pure joy on their face as they open it?
This is the same feeling you get when you celebrate other people’s wins. Whether your best friend just got a raise at their job or a family member just got married, you should celebrate them.
There’s just something about seeing someone else succeed that brings you happiness. It’s contagious!
7. Do kind things
What you put out in the universe will come back to you. I want you to take advantage of this concept.
Doing kind things for others like buying someone lunch or simply holding the door for someone does something special to your spirit.
It feels good to do a good deed, and your heart will be happy that you did one.
8. Do positive self-talk
Your words have power and meaning. What you say can impact your life, so I want you to choose your words wisely.
Think about this for a second: are you going to feel better if you constantly tear yourself down, or if you talk to yourself nicely?
I think we both know the answer to that question.
In the moment, criticizing yourself might feel right. And quite frankly, maybe it IS appropriate. Eventually, though, it’ll become a toxic cycle that you can’t seem to escape.
So, please take the initiative to be kind to yourself and speak to yourself with unwavering positivity.
9. Practice gratitude
Gratitude is powerful. It helps you sit back and appreciate all the good things happening in your life.
Too often we focus on the not-so-positive things, like poor finances or bad eating habits.
But, focusing on these all the time can take a toll on your mental health. You don’t want that happening, do you? I know for a fact you don’t!
So start practicing gratitude and shift your energy and time toward things that make you happy and are in control of.
FREE DAILY JOURNAL
This journal is my favorite because it includes a section to mark how you’re feeling before you start writing, plus just enough lines to let all your feelings out.
Journaling is absolutely one of my favorite ways to practice emotional/mental self care, and my free daily journal can help you do just that.
Click here to get the FREE journal now!
10. Take advice from people you actually respect
Sure, you could take advice and criticism from anyone. But I want you to be wise about who you listen to.
You’re not going to feel fulfilled if you try to change yourself based on the opinions of people who you don’t respect (or vice versa).
For example: you have a family member who you rarely speak to. Every chance they get, they find something to hurt your feelings.
Would you listen to and respect them? Probably not; they always see the worst in you and don’t care for you to succeed.
11. Don’t be so hyper-critical about everything
I’m a perfectionist myself, so I can relate to this one. I notice that I micro-analyze every little detail of something like a big essay, a digital product I’m working on, or a conversation I just had.
TBH, that gets quite tiring after a while. It doesn’t feel too great to be so critical about every single thing.
That’s why, over time, I try to loosen up and not be super fixated on details that don’t even matter that much. I’ll tell you, it’s so freeing and relieving to not have this perfectionist mindset.
12. Listen to your body
If you didn’t know, your body communicates with you — and does a really good job at it.
Your body will tell you when you need to:
- Rest
- Hydrate yourself
- Eat a meal
- Take a break
- …and so much more!
The thing is, it’s up to YOU to actually listen to and do what your body is trying to tell you. It doesn’t do you any good if you ignore the signs!
At this point, you probably already know I’m not the best at taking breaks. Even at work, when it’s time to go on break, I’d rather just keep working until it’s time to go home.
I’m aware that sounds absolutely wild (who would skip a break?!). That’s why I’m trying to accept the fact that I need to rest here and there. If not, I won’t be able to perform my best in any aspect of my life.
13. Have an optimistic mindset
I can tell you right now, pessimism is the ultimate enemy and robs you of any type of happiness you might feel. I know this because I’m currently recovering from a pessimistic mindset.
What this means is that you generally lack hope and tend to expect the worst of things to happen. It like you always see the glass half-empty rather than half-full.
You might think things like:
- “Why did this have to happen to me?”
- “It didn’t work out in the past, so why would it work now?”
- “I’m going to have a bad today because I woke up in a bad mood.”
- “Ugh, I still have 4 hours of work left.” vs. “Yay, I only have 4 hours of work left!”
Yeah, that doesn’t sound too great. It’s actually quite threatening to your approach to life, which is why it’s so important to fix this kind of mindset.
The opposite of pessimism is optimism. You want an optimistic mindset because it brings more hope and positivity into your life.
It’s going to take some time and hard work, but it’s worth putting energy towards.
THINK: Do you have a more optimistic or pessimistic mindset? Tell me in the comments!
14. Go to therapy
If you expected this one, you’re right! There’s no way I could’ve excluded it.
Going to therapy does wonders for your mental health. It’s a special time where you chat with a mental health professional and try to improve your life.
Even if you’re not “failing,” it’s still a good idea to attend a few therapy sessions.
Your therapist can give you different healing tips and techniques, and help you with whatever you’re going through in life. This will ultimately increase your happiness and peace.
15. Live in the moment
Do you notice that when you’re struggling to live in the moment, you feel anxious or worried?
Living in the past or the future means that you’re focusing too much on what’s happened in the past or what you THINK will happen in the future.
Not one bit of that sounds like it promotes feelings of happiness, joy, or satisfaction. If you want to actually be happy, try to live in the moment.
Enjoy what’s right in front of you and what’s happening right now.
16. Face your fears
I understand that facing your fears sounds scary. And sometimes it will be; you’re doing something you’ve never done before and you don’t really know what to expect.
That in itself can be anxiety-inducing and make you want to avoid trying something new.
As long as you hold onto this fear, though, you won’t be very happy. I want you to take a leap of faith and do whatever it is that you’re afraid of, whether it’s:
- Starting a business
- Leaving your job
- Traveling by yourself
- Meeting new people
- Doing a complete restart in your life
I promise you, you’ll feel so relieved when you finally do what you’ve been putting off. Even if it IS as hard as you expected, you can be glad that you took a step in the right direction.
For example, due to my social anxiety, I was opposed to getting my first job. In my defense, I didn’t exactly need one for a while, but it eventually came time to start searching around for job opportunities.
After doing quite some research and hyping myself up (LOL), I finally built the courage and bravery to attend some job interviews.
2 months later, I look forward to going to my job every day! I’m so glad that I got through that fear, and I now know that I can — and will — continue to face my fears.
17. Don’t hold grudges
How do you feel when you hold a grudge?
For myself, it feels right in the beginning, especially if a person really hurt me. But after so long, that remorse doesn’t feel too good.
So, I end up forgiving that person. Now, this isn’t always directly. Sometimes I just forgive them in my mind so I can finally move on.
I encourage you not to hold grudges and apologize to those who have hurt you or someone special to you. Whether it’s to their face or in your mind, you need to forgive them so you can keep living your life happily.
18. Ignore the comments
People can be so ruthless and mean these days. I don’t know if they lack self-confidence or what, but it’s seriously concerning.
If you post something on social media, keep this in mind. You’re opening yourself up to all kinds of comments — positive, negative, and even back-handed ones.
The whole “tough skin” thing may apply to some people, but definitely not everyone (myself included). If you don’t think you can handle the negativity, try to ignore the comments.
They’re probably not worth reading anyway, so I doubt you’re missing out on much.
19. Say “bye-bye” to embarrassment
Change your mindset about embarrassment. The normal concept of embarrassment is that you do something cringy or, well, embarrassing, and you feel a certain way about it.
But you actually only feel embarrassed if you allow yourself to be. And sure, other people could judge you, but only your reaction truly matters.
So, the next time you do something “embarrassing,” try to think of it differently.
20. Appreciate the small things
Happiness can lie in the small things, like:
- Walking around your neighborhood
- Enjoying your favorite snack
- Catching up with friends
- Having a solo date
- Finishing your TBR (to-be-read)
Once you realize this, you’ll be truly satisfied. It’s nice knowing that you don’t have to go over the top to feel joy.
Let’s recap!
We made it to the end of the post!
Today, we talked about how to be happy.
Happiness is a feeling that comes and goes. It can be hard to find sometimes, so I hope these tips helped you in some way, shape, or form.
Please remember to take time to take care of yourself!
I know, in this economy, it can be hard to find free things to do that are fun. That’s why I put together a list of 7 free self care activities to enjoy today!
In the midst of chaos, don’t forget to smile,
DeMarcus – your self care buddy
PIN IT FOR LATER:
This post was all about how to be happy.
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