When you stop and think about your life, how do you feel about it? Most of us say we want to be happy, but are we? Given the amount of time, money, and energy that is devoted to the pursuit of happiness, it’s a crying shame that more of us aren’t happy. The truth is that being happy isn’t usually something that just happens. It’s something that takes work and action. So, what are some things you can do to live a happier life?
Putting Your Needs First
How many times have you been told that it’s bad to be selfish? The truth is that being selfish in the right way is absolutely crucial to happy living. Now, that doesn’t mean that you should start putting your every want over the needs of others. What it does mean is that you should absolutely put your needs first. You owe it to yourself to take care of yourself. Making sure you get enough sleep, water, food (especially healthy food), and have the other necessities of life before looking after the needs of others gives you the foundation you need to feel good and live a happy life.
An Attitude of Gratitude
Your perception of your life, and therefore the level of happiness you achieve, is heavily dependent on your mindset and what you choose to focus on. If you choose to focus on or look for the negative, that’s exactly what you’ll find. On the other hand, if you look at things through a lens of gratitude, you’ll find it much easier to find the good in life. The more you focus on the positive, the more easily and naturally finding a state of happiness will come. Consider keeping a gratitude journal. Pick a number and write down that many things you’re grateful for every day. Add it to your morning routine for a great way to get the day off to a good start.
Living with Intention
Sure, you could wait for circumstances to line up just right so that living a happy life takes little to no effort on your part. That could leave you waiting for a good long time though. Wouldn’t it be better if you could have a happy life regardless of your circumstances? That’s the whole point of living with intention. Start living with intention by deciding what it is that you really want. If figuring out what you want is proving difficult, start by identifying what you don’t want. Once you know what you don’t want, figuring out what you do want is that much easier. Then you can put your energy towards that.
Setting Yourself Up for Success
Clearly your mindset has a lot to do with creating a happy life. It’s also important to be aware that there are plenty of external influences that can make happy living easier or more difficult to achieve. Knowing which influences fit into which category helps you take action to set yourself up for success when it comes to creating a happy life. There are a few things you can do to set yourself up for success. Create morning and bedtime routines that incorporate things like meditation, practicing gratitude, and taking care of your needs. Schedule things into your day that help you feel good. Love to read? Set aside some time to engross yourself in a favorite novel. Have a favorite smell? Find ways to infuse that smell into your home to evoke feelings of comfort and joy.
Did you know you need a solid eight hours of sleep to feel rested and ready to face the new day? Be disciplined about when you start your nighttime routine, so you go to bed on time. There are a lot of different things you can do to set yourself up for success when it comes to happy living.
Smells are powerfully linked to our emotions, and essential oils can be a great way to leverage the power of aromatherapy. Try diffusing any of our uplifting essential oils and blends to take advantage of an easy way to evoke feelings of positivity.
Happiness is a choice that we make. Happy living is a product of choices that have been made over time. That means that in order for you to find a state of happy living you’ll need to put some work into it. Think about it this way: happy living being a result of action and choices on your part means that it’s something you can take control of. You don’t have to wait for happiness to fall in your lap by luck or accident. Now that’s something worth celebrating!
