5 LITTLE THINGS TO MAKE YOU HAPPY EVERYDAY
It was 2012 when I started reading “Eat, Pray, Love” without any idea that the next 6 years would challenge me in every way; emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Even all these years, one quote from this book stayed ingrained in me; it resonated so much that I stuck a post-it on my mirror:
‘Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.’
At the time, even though this quote seemed powerful and I would look at it regularly, it was not until life 6 years later that I can really appreciate this quote and its meaning; that happiness is something we need to fight for every day; it is not something we will always wake up feeling, but you have to do everything in your power to go back to your place of happiness, and it really is amazing what some little actions can do to change our mood for the better.
1. Simply saying to yourself, ‘I am happy’ can really change your mood. Our brains believe whatever we tell them, the brain doesn’t know whether this is true or false; it simply obeys to your instruction. The next time you find yourself feeling down, simply saying three words to yourself, ‘I am happy’ can slowly start changing your mood.
2. Exercise. Or even simply going for a walk boosts the mood. It is all about moving around to get the blood pumping in the body in order to lift our moods. I love walking and how I feel at the end; it is simply a mood lifter.
3. Tell yourself that you will reward yourself after completing a task. When I tell myself I am going to buy a nice cup of coffee once I have completed all my morning work, I really look forward to drinking the coffee and savouring every taste. It’s the small little things in life which we have made so normal that need to become rewarding, satisfying and enjoyable.
4. Acting like a kid or even being around or observing kids reminds us that we don’t need to take life so seriously. The little things we worry about now won’t even matter in a few years’ time. Being the youngest of my siblings, I love annoying my sisters, even at the 34 years of age I am now. I find it absolutely hilarious to prank call them or do silly things, and the end result is I am in tears of laughter at my silliness.
5. For me, I find when I am unhappy, it is simply because I am overthinking a situation. When this happens, I simply imagine a switch in my brain with the ‘off’ button switching off the million thoughts running through my head. This makes such a big difference as I then become in the present moment, and all becomes well!
These are the quick fixes that get me back to my happy mood instantly. There are so many more ways I can write about, but these little quick ways train my brain to be happy instantly without needing to temporarily find a fix to make me happy, such as going on a holiday
