15 Easy Happiness Habits You Can Use to Increase Joy
We all want to be happy, but many of us don’t know how to get there. A lot of us tend to think that if we had this new car, got this promotion, or tried this experience we would be happy. In actuality, there are happiness habits you can do daily to increase joy, without needing something in return.
While an experience like going to a concert or receiving something may momentarily increase happiness, it quickly goes back down to a baseline level. Use these happiness habits to increase that baseline and feel more joy on your normal day.
15 Happiness Habits to Try Daily
Here are 15 habits that can help you increase happiness exponentially! Try them all out and pick the ones you like the most, or do them all daily for increased benefits!
1. Focus on Experiences
Instead of focusing on something you can buy to be happy, focus more on experiences. This creates memories you can go back to, reflect on, and feel joy from.
2. Have a Good Environment
Having a good environment, whether this is at work, in your home, or when you go out to enjoy the town is highly valuable in the pursuit of happiness. Make sure your work environment is not burning you out, ensure that you are going out to places you enjoy, and make sure your home sparks joy. Even just adding a cool poster, lamp, or cute rug can change the vibes of a space and make it better.
3. Surround Yourself with Supportive People
Supportive people can help you in times of need. Make sure the people in your life have your best interest at heart. This creates a support system that can help you deal with issues in life, and one you can be thankful for having.
4. Help Others
Helping others unlock empathy pathways in the mind that feel good. It releases serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin, a chemical cocktail in the brain that makes you feel positive, happy emotions. So yes, even being selfless can be in some way selfish.
Research has shown however that spending money on others makes us happier than spending it on ourselves. Even just buying a friend that pair of socks they have been warning seems to increase your own happiness exponentially.
5. Surround Yourself With Positive People
If you listen to sad music, you’ll be sad yourself. Vise versa, if you listen to upbeat tunes, you are more likely to get out of your funk. This is true in terms of people as well. Being around positive people will help you feel better, more optimistic, and happier than if you hang around people who just talk about how everything sucks.
6. Exercise Consistently
Any movement is good movement but did you know that just 10 minutes of an elevated heart rate can increase feel-good chemicals in the brain? Increasing happiness can be as simple as going out for a brisk walk outdoors, doing some yoga, or getting in some push-ups.
7. Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is vital in terms of metabolism, muscle development, and mental wellbeing. The amount of sleep you get affects your mood, memory, learning ability, focus, and self-control. Sleep has a detoxifying effect, removing byproducts from daily activity in the body and restoring homeostasis. Lack of sleep increases stress hormones, attention, memory, and energy, so make sure you get enough rest.
8. Look on the Bright Side
Stay positive in bad situations. Ok, I know it’s not always as easy as it sounds, particularly in really bad cases, but it is a vital outlook to have. What has happened has happened, there is no way to change the past. The only thing you can control is how you deal with it.
If there is still something to be done, find a solution, tackle the problem, and keep going. Pessimism does nothing but holds you back from trying and achieving your goals.
9. Count Your Blessings
As we go through our day, there are a million things we take for granted. Take time to stop and enjoy the little joys that life offers daily. Even having time to grab your favorite cup of coffee, speak to a friend, or having a bed to sleep in at night are simple pleasures in life we don’t always notice or appreciate.
10. Deepen Conversations
Small talk or gossip lacks substance and positivity. For happiness to become a habit, try to deepen conversations to engage with others on a deeper level. This helps build stronger connections and stronger support systems. It is also a way of getting things off your chest so to speak, which can help you feel better emotionally.
11. Develop a Hobby
With the side hustle mentality growing, more people are turning their hobbies into profit. Now, listen. Not everything you do has to be for profit. If you enjoy crocheting and knitting sweaters for your pets, do that. Like listening to acoustic music? Take 15 minutes a day to jam out.
Develop a hobby you feel good about, regardless of whether it makes you profit.
12. Develop a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset simply means you are someone willing to change, grow, learn, and develop. This should be a lifelong outlook of adapting, changing, and bettering yourself. By adopting a growth mindset, you can face new problems or challenges with more confidence.
13. Do In-Person Activities
Technology sometimes keeps us from going outside and touching grass. Start to do more in-person activities, whether that’s going out into nature, visiting a friend in person, or shopping instead of having something delivered.
14. Mind the Moment
Being present at the moment fuels wellbeing and positivity. Stress, worry, or regret all deal with thinking about the past or concerns about the future. Take small moments of mindfulness throughout the day to increase joy in the present moment.
15. Make the Effort
People may not always wake up on the right side of the bed, but they at the very least try to change their mood if they walk up on the wrong side. It is easy to be in a bad mood and stay that way for hours or even days. Making an effort can be as simple as doing some of the habits on this list! Tell yourself, ok, I’m gonna count my blessings, I’m going to work on my hobby, I’m going to change my mood right now.
The Takeaway
Happiness habits can help you cultivate joy from within. Instead of waiting to get something or experience something, you can start to increase daily happiness for increased wellbeing today.
Remember that health comes from within. Give your body the building blocks it needs to flourish mentally, emotionally, and physically, and watch how wellness increases exponentially! Anyone can take their health into their hands.