I Want To Be Happy
It’s so easy to set goals but lose sight of the intention behind them. I am really working on creating more magic and happiness this year and treating time as sacred. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to be happy and living a mindful and intentional life has been the closest thing I’ve found as an answer so far. For me, it’s really a matter of making a very real and conscious effort to call in more moments of joy. I hope these tips help you figure out how to be happy in your own life. I have a whole podcast episode talking about how I am planning to create more magic and happiness in my life you can check out on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify or Podbean.
Stop Taking Time for Granted
One of my biggest intentions for the year is to treat 2019 like it is sacred. One of the ways I am doing this is to be aware that my time in this human body is very limited. In fact, I’m not guaranteed to have any additional time at all. This might sound morbid but for me it helps me feel thankful and blessed for the time that I have been given. I want to make sure that I’m not taking this year or any of the time that I have been given for granted. Keeping the idea that this experience I am having is temporary helps me feel excited and thankful for my life. I have found that I often get too focused on my to-do list and end up being checked out. This feels like I am taking the precious time I have for granted by not being in the present moment.
Be Present
When I am having a hard time stepping into happiness or joy I notice everything around me to anchor myself back into the present moment. When I’m not being mindful I spend a lot of time and energy worrying about the future or playing back things that have already happened in the past. Our thoughts make up so much of our current reality and once I realized I could control my own thoughts and how I feel I felt much more empowered about being in control of the experience I am having in my body. I am constantly redirecting my thoughts to anchor myself back into the present moment but I’ve found that the more time I spend in the present moment the easier it is for me to be happy about my life overall. When I notice my mind drifting into the past or present I will take a few minutes to just sit and notice my breathing. I will send love to everyone I care about and just let myself feel blessed for being in this body and having this experience right now. There are lots of ways to anchor yourself in the present moment it’s mostly about being mindful about what your thought process is.
Take Time to Notice Blessings
I spend lots of days powering through my to-do list and I don’t take time to notice the blessings around me. I like to bring myself back to the present moment by noticing all the amazing things that are surrounding my right now. I give thanks for everything in my immediate surrounding to feel thankful and blessed for the current moment. This practice has really helped my anxiety and I’ve been able to become much more intentional about what I spend my time thinking about. One of my favorite ways to notice my blessings is to make a list of 100 things I am thankful for right now. I try to write this list out as fast as I can. I’ve done this exercise so many times that it’s gotten really easy for me. All of the things in my life that I am thankful for just pour out of me. If you’re trying to figure out how to be happy I recommend starting some kind of gratitude practice. There are so many things surrounding you right now that you can feel thankful for. It’s really about feeling appreciative for the small things that you have that has helped me start feeling happier in my life. I like to give gratitude for things like toenails and eyelashes. Focusing on the small things has trained my brain to constantly be on the lookout for blessings and it has really changed my whole mindset and overall mood.
Find Things That Make You Feel Wonder
I like to think about how amazing my body is and just notice my lungs breathing or my heart beating. Make a list of all the things that make you feel awe and amazement. When I’m feeling like I need to raise my vibe or feel more gratitude I like to focus on the things in this life that amaze me. A lot of times I’ll just look at the trees or the sky and think about how amazing the earth is. Feeling more wonder is one of the ways that I am going to treat 2019 as a sacred year and honor my experience on this earth and in this body. There are so many things about our lives that are amazing and taking the time to honor them by appreciating them and feeling awe is one of my new favorite practices. When I start to feel my energy drop I tap into how amazing the planet is and how amazing my own body is. I keep the things that make me feel awe and amazement qued up in my mind and I call them up when I need them. The more I practice calling in these feelings the clearer they get and the easier it is to call them forward.
Spend Time Creating Joy
There are an endless number of ways you can create joy. My favorite ways are having aggressive dance parties and watching videos on Instagram of parrots dancing. I like to spend some time brainstorming new ways I can have fun throughout the day. If I don’t intentionally make time to create joy my life gets boring AF. I work from home and often times will work in my office for days without talking to anyone or leaving my house. I love my work and I feel really blessed to have a job that I am passionate about. However, I still have to make time to have fun and enjoy my human experience more. What practices could you add to your daily routine just for the sake of having fun? Intentionally adding fun to my life allows me to have more energy to give other people. It helps me stay inspired and I have better ideas when I am regularly making time to experience joy. I used to just wait to see if something awesome would happen that I could be happy about. Now I intentionally create joy in my day and make time to experience happiness.
Live In Memory of Someone
I like to view my life as a tribute to my loved ones that are no longer having a physical experience anymore. This might sound dark or heavy but it really motivates me not to take my experience in this body and in my life for granted. It reminds me to act like time is sacred and to feel thankful for the moments I get with the people in my life. Living my life in tribute to my loved ones that are no longer here makes me feel connected to them and that makes me feel good. I like the idea of being able to live in a way that they would be proud of and the idea of living my life in tribute to them really motivates me to live in a way that would make them proud. I feel like this is kind of a strange concept but it really has helped me and I thought I would share it in case it resonates with you.
Find Something Meaningful To Do
The best thing I ever did was start my blog. Before my blog, I was lost and I didn’t have a meaningful way to spend my time. I felt lost and my life was honestly pretty empty. You don’t have to create a blog but I think finding something that makes your life feel meaningful is a great way to treat 2019 as sacred and find more happiness. Now that I feel like I am living in my purpose and able to help other people I am much happier and I feel deeply fulfilled in a way that I just wasn’t before. If you’re feeling empty or like life is pointless to look into volunteering or working with organizations in your community that you feel passionate about. Serving others has added so much value to my life and I wake up happy every day knowing that I have the chance to make a difference in someone’s life. It really motivates me to keep creating content for this little blog and I’ve even launched a podcast and YouTube channel. I find the more I create things that help other people the more inspired and happy I feel overall and the more I want to create. It is a really beautiful cycle and I’m really thankful to have found a way to infuse meaning into my life.
Focus On What Is Going Good
When I made a commitment to quit complaining I really started to notice how much time people spend talking about everything they don’t like about their life. Everything from the weather to traffic is regular sources of complaining and conversation. I really try to make an effort to focus on what is going good in my life instead of what I don’t like. I think it is impossible to feel happy when you’re focusing on what you don’t like about your life. The best way I know to feel better about life is to focus on what you like about your life. This can take a lot of mental discipline but I’ve found the more I practice refocusing my negative thoughts to positive the easier it gets.
I hope this gives you some ideas to help you figure out how to be happy in your own life. These things have really made a big difference in my life and I feel better than I have in a long time. If you’re struggling with depression check out my depression survival guide or my guide for overcoming loneliness. If you’re interested in learning more about mental health be sure to check out my podcast, Instagram and YouTube channel. I am always making new content to try and help others by sharing what I have learned from managing my own depression and anxiety.
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