Life is wonderful in a lot of ways. You’ve probably experienced a lot of joy in your life. Here’s hoping you and your loved ones will continue having positive life experiences and long, happy, healthy lives.
If you would like to improve the odds that your life has more happiness and less sadness, more fulfillment, and less frustration, do what the happy people do. Sometimes getting a wonderful result is as easy as being a copycat. Observe what happy people do and then start doing it yourself.
If you need some help, we’re here for you. We’ve compiled a short list of a few things you can start doing right now, this very minute, to be a more content, happy, and satisfied person. The following five tips can add more joy to your life (while improving your financial health, boosting your productivity, and slimming your waistline).
1 – Step Away from the Plastic
You might think a shopping binge makes you happy, but it doesn’t. Shopping is never the answer if you want to be happier. That’s because it’s something that exists outside of your mind and your emotions.
Happiness is inside you. You need to bring it out.
You can’t improve your happiness by giving in to a shopping addiction. Quite to the contrary, spending money can cause stress and strife when that credit card bill rolls around at the end of the month.
2 – Start Journaling
You can call it your Journal of Joy or Delightful Diary. The idea is to record positive feelings. What gave you happiness, joy, and contentment throughout the day? Keep it with you, and write down your positive experiences as they happen.
Don’t just write them down and forget them. Begin each day by reading the previous day’s entries, and you’ll start every morning with a smile.
3 – Get up an Hour Earlier Every Day
You may have heard that many successful people get up early in the morning. Why not copy their habits of success? Get up one hour earlier than you usually do. Make this a habit. It allows you to take your time in the morning so you don’t rush. You can plan your day and easily start it with less stress and more calm, focused energy.
4 – Have a Plan B in Place
If you aren’t planning your day, you should be. You can create more of the outcomes you want when creating game plans. For more happiness, always have a secondary plan in place. Plan A won’t always work out, and if you have a Plan B ready to save the day, that means more smiles and fewer frowns.
5 – Eat More Bananas
Bananas are full of filling dietary fiber. A medium banana makes you feel full and only hits you with about 105 calories. Eating one or two daily can help you resist the urge to eat unhealthy alternatives.
Bananas are also rich in tyrosine and tryptophan, two natural chemicals that trigger the production of serotonin. As one of the aptly named happiness hormones, serotonin promotes feelings of happiness and reduces feelings of anxiety and stress.
Like many other significant things, happiness is about making the right choices. Start eating more bananas. Develop backup plans and get up an hour earlier each day. Start journaling, and look for patterns that deliver the most happiness. Stop trying to spend your way to happiness. It won’t work. Start putting these practices to work today, and you’ll enjoy more happiness tomorrow.