What are the Keys to Feeling Happier?
The summit of a mountain or the accomplishment of a goal will not bring us happiness.
…It’s all about embracing the journey and the journey itself.
Isn’t it a result of realizing that we no longer need to grow and change...
In realizing that we are capable of and should be excited about growing and changing, this realization occurs.
According to research, people who are more content in their lives are more productive and successful in their endeavors.
…Yet, sadly, many people hold to the myth that happiness results from success rather than the other way around.
Make the statement, “I’ll be happy when…,” and you’re setting yourself up for disaster. In addition, it prepares people to go for months or even years without allowing themselves to feel joyous or satisfied.
At the top of a mountain, however, the human condition is to experience an exhilarating sense of accomplishment.
In order to be happy, one must first achieve a certain level of success.
There are 4 main chemicals in the brain that influence our feelings of happiness…
- Dopamine
- Oxytocin
- Serotonin
- Endorphin
And each plays a different role in how we experience happiness.
Dopamine is the feeling we get when we’re having fun pursuing a goal.
Oxytocin is the feeling we get when we’re out in public.
Serotonin When we’re in a good mood, we feel this way. An interesting fact about our bodies is that up to 90% of our Serotonin production occurs in the gut, which is heavily affected by our diet.
Endorphin The fight or flight response is associated with these feelings and helps you get through difficult times in life and reach your goals.
Happier people tend to be more productive and accomplish more in their lives, so it’s a win-win situation. Here are 7 keys to feeling happier in life.
1. Cultivate a Growth-Oriented Mindset
Dweck, a Stanford University psychologist, explains that there are two main mindsets we can use to get through life: a fixed mindset and an open mindset. Fixed and increasing.
As a result, those with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities and intelligence are fixed. As a result, they tend to hit a wall in their pursuits because they believe they’ve reached the limit of their abilities.
Despite their best efforts, they often fail to live up to their full potential. As a result, they are less content with their lives than those who have a growth-oriented mindset.
Growth Mindset individuals believe that their abilities and intelligence are malleable and that they can be developed over time. As a result, not only can they improve their ability to learn a specific skill, but their capacity to learn in general can as well.
Growth-minded people tend to be happier than those with a fixed mindset because they believe that their chances of success are much greater than those with a fixed mindset. Belief in one’s own abilities leads to a more optimistic outlook on life, which in turn leads to better long-term outcomes.
Those with a fixed mindset tend to focus more on proving themselves, while those with a growth mindset focus more on taking action that leads to the desired outcomes. The growth mindset inspires a strong desire to learn, even when things aren’t going your way.
When you have a growth mindset, you look at challenges as opportunities for personal growth and improvement rather than as obstacles to be overcome.
2. Develop an Optimists View of the World
Optimists and pessimists are both correct in many situations… Optimists, on the other hand, tend to be happier and more successful in life.
Pessimists experience higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression than optimists. Pessimists are more likely to procrastinate than optimists.
There is more to being happy than just what happens to you, and it’s not just about what happens to you. It’s what you make of the situation as it unfolds.
At a magazine publishing company, Billy and Sarah both lost their jobs.
Billy took it hard, and it took him three months to find a new job after applying to 30 different places. In no time, his new job had turned into an enormous source of anxiety for him, and he was fed up with the bad luck he’s been having so far.
When Sarah lost her job, she was devastated. A night of sobbing on her husband’s shoulder gave her an entirely new outlook on life the next day. She saw this as an opportunity to improve her situation even further. So she rewrote her resume and became more selective in her job search. She applied to seven jobs and was interviewed for two of them.
A few of them turned out to be higher-paying positions, but one of them was especially exciting to her because it involved learning about magazine artwork, something she had always wanted to do but never had the opportunity. In contrast to Billy, Sarah has a positive outlook on life and a pessimistic outlook on life. Optimists are better able to handle situations like this because they are more likely to see the silver lining in every situation.
The most important thing is to always look for the silver lining in any circumstance. Get creative and figure out how to turn this challenge into a “blessing in disguise.” Never overlook the significance of life’s small victories. Make sure you don’t dismiss them as “insignificant.”
You’ll be happier and more successful in your career if you see it as a “calling” rather than a “means to an end.” There will be many wonderful days ahead if you can focus on the positive aspects of your life and be genuinely thankful for all the little things you have.
3. Enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination
… Life is not a series of destinations…… The journey is more important than any goal or dream.
Consequently, it is important to focus on the effort that goes into achieving success rather than the accomplishment itself. If you want to achieve your goals, you must enjoy the process of getting there.
For a runner who wants to win the race, the training must be enjoyable. Moreover, the training provides a sense of accomplishment. If you don’t win, you’ll have spent a lot of time training, and even if you do, you’ll have wasted a lot of time. Even if you don’t win, it’s important to remember the journey and effort that went into it… You should also tell yourself that you’re proud of yourself for doing everything you could to make the situation the best it could be.
And it’s a good thing to celebrate. Most happy people understand the importance of pushing oneself beyond one’s comfort zone… Whether or not the effort paid off, in the end, is less important than the degree to which success was achieved.
For those who put in more effort, as well as those who enjoy taking on big challenges, great things are bound to happen in their lives. And in the process, you’ll get to experience more of what life has to offer.
4. Keep Up Your Social Relationships
“Countless studies have found that social relationships are the best guarantee of heightened well-being and lowered stress, both an antidote for depression and a prescription for high performance.” – Shawn Achor, Author, “The Happiness Advantage”
In the most comprehensive study of adult development to date, Harvard University conducted its own research. Over the course of 75 years, they studied 724 men. There is a strong correlation between happiness and the quality of one’s social relationships.
Dr. Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist and director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, says that “the lesson that came from tens of thousands of pages of that research was that good relationship hook up happier and healthier.”
In addition, dozens of other studies have shown that people who have satisfying relationships are happier and live longer.
This means that you should always make time to spend with your loved ones and friends.
Even though spending time with others is important, it’s not the only way to be kind to others.
If you can spare a few minutes or a few dollars to help those in need, do so.
“A long line of empirical research, including one study of over 2,000 people, has shown that acts of altruism—giving to friends and strangers alike—decrease stress and strongly contribute to enhanced mental health.” – Shawn Achor, Author, The Happiness Advantage.
5. Improve Your Nutrition
Serotonin is one of the body’s four primaries “happiness hormones.” As much as 90% of it is produced in the intestines. As a result, food and drink play an important role in how content you are with your life as a whole.
Study participants who took probiotics for six weeks saw significant improvements in their symptoms of mild to moderate anxiety or depression.
Probiotics (galactooligosaccharides) have been shown to significantly reduce the amount of cortisol in the body after three weeks of use, according to another study (a stress hormone). Sugar and processed food intake should be reduced, while the intake of natural whole foods should be increased.
Sauerkraut and other fermented foods are excellent for your digestive system. The microbes responsible for the production of Serotonin can be increased by eating more vegetables and fruits.
6. Chaos Leads To Frustration … Create SYSTEMS That Lead To Success
“I value self-discipline… But creating systems that make it next to impossible to misbehave is more reliable than self-control.” – Tim Ferris, Author, The 4 Hour Work Week.
The majority of people assume that many of the events that occur to them are random. The reality is that there are many systems, large and small, that play out over and over again in a logical and complete way…
It’s possible for you to design the life you want by creating, editing, and nurturing the systems you need. A simple realization that you have the power to transform your entire life into anything you desire can leave you with a lasting sense of happiness and clarity about your future.
What you need to do is focus on what you want and what you don’t want to happen. Afterward, you need to identify the systems that will cause (or stop) them from occurring.
This holds true in all aspects of one’s life, including the home, the workplace, one’s health, interpersonal relationships, and the pursuit of one’s goals.
Here’s a case in point…
Felicity, John’s wife, was stressed out from all the housework she was doing. They have three children, and the clutter was becoming a source of stress for her. In order to assist her, John devised a system.
Each day after school, he compiled a list of tasks for the children to complete. They get an hour of ‘free play time before dinner if they complete all of their ‘jobs.’
Not only did they miss out on the “free play” time if they didn’t do their “jobs,” they got a lecture about the importance of “doing their part” in the family and how much their mom appreciated it.
The kids were doing laundry, cleaning their lunchboxes, doing their homework, and cleaning up after themselves automatically within two weeks of starting the program.
Felicity had a great time! Their overall well-being was greatly improved by this minor adjustment to their daily routines. The kids noticed that their Mom was more upbeat as well, and they felt proud of themselves for becoming more self-sufficient. In the end, everyone came out ahead.
Changing the way you live your life can have a significant impact on your future. This is an example of this.
As an example, saving 3% of your income each month can lead to more vacations… Making unhealthy snacks more difficult to get to than desirable ones, such as treats, can encourage people to eat healthier. The key is to examine your life’s systems and make improvements to them.
7. Accept What Is … Chase Damn Hard For What ‘Could Be’
University of Hertfordshire researchers found that self-acceptance is one of the most important factors in determining our happiness…
However, this is the one we tend to neglect the most.
There are two parts to acceptance: accepting yourself and accepting others.
- Accepting what is, and what has happened to us.
- Accepting ourselves and who we are.
The problem is that we’ve already experienced the past. Because of this, it’s critical to cultivate the habit of accepting what has occurred. Despite the fact that it is unjust.
It’s critical to look for the positive in every situation, to take what you’ve learned to heart, and to devise a forward-looking strategy for the future.
Love yourself as you are and don’t limit yourself to “I’ll love myself when…”
You’ve already accomplished a lot. You’ve already proven yourself to be an admirable human being. Don’t put off loving yourself until you’ve gotten that raise, found the perfect partner, or gotten rid of that stubborn belly fat...
… In order to achieve those goals, you have to be content with where you are now and love yourself as you are right now. AND GO CRAZY FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES.
Get excited and happy about what’s going on in your life. Focus on cultivating these seven habits and you’ll be on the road to success in no time. They’ll make you feel better about yourself and your life in general.
