“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

“Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

Being happy is one of those great things that is different for everyone.  It comes in many different ways, through family, through things we experience, through choices we make, and through the paths we take.  While the things that make us happy are vastly different from person to person, one thing is common.  Being happy is understanding the things that truly make you happy and acting upon them.

The problem today, however, is that many of us confuse artificial happiness with true happiness.  We often listen to what others tell us what should make us happy (fancy car, perfect body, big house, etc.) or even worse we confuse short term gratification for happiness (like drinking a soda, eating a cookie, etc.).  Don’t get me wrong, that does not mean you shouldn’t strive for a big house and eat an occasional cookie, it simply means they should not be a replacement for something that really makes you happy.

What we miss are the small things we can do each and every day to help keep our minds in a positive state.  Staying happy through good and bad times requires the right mindset.  We will all go through ups and downs, the difference is with a positive mindset the downs will be much shorter and the ups will be much more fulfilling.

Simple Tips To Start Finding More Happiness

1. Everyday do at least two things you would not normally do for someone. This can be anything to anyone.  It is amazing how much this can not only impact the person’s life you are helping, but also your own.  Helping someone builds your confidence, builds trust, and sets your mind into a positive state.  Helping others is also a great distraction away from the negative thoughts you may have.  Try it for a week or two and you will see it will lift your spirits.
   

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2. Focus on the good, not the bad.  We all get caught in day to day problems.  It is important to find solutions to them, but letting them take control over you only leads to stress and anxiety.  One way to overcome the bad problems is to find more things that you have that are good to remind yourself about.  Make a list if you have to, but try to remind yourself everyday of those good things.  It won’t solve your problems, but it may give you a better state of mind to tackle the tough problems that are causing stress.
   

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3. Watch less TV.  TV is like the empty calories you get from eating a donut but for your mind.  TV is filled with half-truths, stereo-types, miss-information, and negative signals.  TV is also not healthy for our bodies and eyes.  If that is not bad enough, it takes away family communication, limits thoughts and imagination, and is addicting.  TV is one of those short term gratification items that brings us inflated happiness that is then replaced with future disappointment.  Keep this in mind, if you did not have watch TV, how many hours would you get back?  Would you care about the next trend or missing the next episode?  Would you buy less things you cannot afford?  Try it and see how you feel after a few weeks.
   

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4. Talk more.  The best is with your family, but if that does not work with you, find a friend, or a co-worker.  Communication helps relieve stress and sometimes puts things into perspective by giving you someone else’s view.
   

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5. We all make mistakes, learn from them but don’t obsess with them.  The best make mistakes, big and small.  Thomas Edison said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Mistakes are a part of life, they will happen.  What defines us is what we do once we have made them.  If we don’t learn from them, they then become a burden from which we can never recover.If we choose to learn from them by understanding why they happened, how to avoid them in the future, and apply the lessons to our lives, then we grow stronger from them and become confident that we will do better in the future.Don’t beat yourself up, learn from your mistakes, and do better.  When you do better, make sure you know so that you can see the impact of positive learning.

The tips above are just a small start on things you can do to make yourself happy.  Remember, happiness live inside you and you have to remind yourself each day of the things that make you happy.  A positive mindset is the best way to star your path to finding more happiness.  Happiness also goes along well with making goals.  Read about goals and combine the two to start your journey to reaching the goals you want and achieving more happiness.