I am back from a wonderful vacation in New York and as always the city was full of inspirations, nice quotes, fine people, mindfulness books and a lt of good everywhere. These days I am so much into useful, powerful books and I finally found the time to sit down, relax, read and learn. There is a question in my mind, that I would like to share with you, because I believe it is yours as well: What can I do to boost my happiness? Well, first of all you must know what is happiness in your eyes and which are the things that make you happy. Maybe it will look like a simple question, but in fact it is not. Start with a confidence boost, which is good at every age and in every moment of your life. It’s so important to build your self-efficacy — to prove to yourself that you can increase your happiness. The best way to do this is by starting with easier skills — skills like gratitude or prioritizing spending time doing fun things. Get a quick win, and you’ll be more confident that you really can change your life.
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You wouldn’t practice math to get better at cooking. And you wouldn’t learn another language to lose weight. To be happier, you’ll likely make more progress by focusing on the skills that are most closely linked to happiness. Every region in our brains can be strengthened through practice. If our brains are really good at remembering negative things that happen, it can be useful to strengthen the regions of the brain responsible for remembering positive things. Everything we experience can be a bummer if we choose to see it that way. But when you search for the benefits or silver linings in your life, you may be surprised to discover a lot of good. Keep practicing to increase the positive and decrease the negative to cultivate happiness.
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Another thing you can do to be happier is to communicate in a gentle way. When we are kind to others, we feel better about ourselves. We can do nice things for others, be empathetic, or we can just treat each other with respect, communicating kindly rather than assuming the worst. Try to change your negative patterns of thinking. Let’s face it: Sometimes we are what’s making us miserable. We just can’t stop thinking about how so-and-so wronged us, or how our life didn’t turn out as we hoped. Negative thought processes — like worrying, ruminating, self-judgment, and fearing rejection — just keep us miserable and unable to move forward. When you find yourself thinking negatively, pause and refocus your thoughts. In time, your brain will be able to do this more easily on its own.
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By paying attention to the good, you can rise above it and be more resilient. When you find the good, savor the moment, and bring it with you to maintain happiness even during hard times. Or try thinking about a time in the future when you’ll feel better. Explore exactly what gives you a sense of purpose and how you want to pursue this purpose to give your life a greater sense of meaning. We all define happiness in different ways. When you know what happiness means to you, you’ll have an easier time finding it. So explore happiness — what it means, what it looks like, and what it feels like — to more easily create it.
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Dear reader, maybe you will like also this:
Every day is a chance for a new Wow
You either have it or you don’t
Good things in my life
