In pursuit of success and wealth, we often fail to connect with ourselves while keeping pace with the speeding life. Here are few simple life hacks to enrich your life and well, simply put – be happier. There is no point in spending this life constantly waiting for something or the other to make you happy. Self sustained happiness is the best kind of happiness. Make the below acts a part of your everyday life and see the change for yourself.
1. 3 Acts Of Gratitude Every Day
Studies have shown that if you think about the positive things in your life everyday you can actually change the chemistry in your brain!! The happy chemical your brain naturally produces is called Serotonin. So how do we produce this chemical? Well, there are a few things you can do. The most basic one is to smile. You can fake the smile and still produce this chemical. Try placing a pencil horizontally in your mouth and hold the pencil for 6 seconds in your teeth. The facial muscles will contort to reflect this action thus producing Serotonin. However it is much more pleasurable and uplifting to genuinely laugh and smile. Watch a funny movie, spend some time with babies either human or animal, listen to upbeat music. These aren’t always possible to do everyday so my suggestion is to think about 3 things that make you happy and that you are grateful for. It could be something very simple like “ I am grateful that I have a warm bed to retire to every night – no matter what my day has been like” or “ I am grateful my family have their health” or “ I am grateful I have a car and don’t have to walk to work when it’s cold and wet”.
You can use the same Gratifications everyday or find new things that you are grateful for. There is always something in your life to be grateful. Best still remember that joke your child/ friend told you once that really made you belly ache laugh.
2. Keep A Journal
It may not always be easy to remember about the good things that have happened to you, especially if you feel you have had a series of bad luck recently. So I would suggest making a journal purely for the things that you have enjoyed in your life. Like a day out with the family, a thoughtful word or gesture that someone gave you or again a funny joke or something you saw that made you laugh. When writing about this pleasant experience, think about and write down why it made you happy, what was the most uplifting bit about that experience, what emotion did it evoke in you?
It may not have been the whole day at the zoo that actually touched your happiness button but there will have been small incidents that would have made you smile. Write it down and when you come to do your Gratitude check, re-live that moment in your head like it is happening now.
3. Exercise
Another Serotonin boost. Getting your body moving in the morning be it a brisk walk or an exercise program will get your brain working better and set you up for the rest of the day. If you do have a job that means you have to sit behind a computer all day – get out for 20 minutes at lunch time for a walk and a stretch. Ideally you should be physically moving every hour.
4. Meditation
Meditation is not about falling asleep or loosing control, it is about being in the present. Getting your brain and body in a state of relax and allowing yourself time to have peace. It needs only to be 10 minutes a day if that is all you have got but it is so important to feel at one with yourself. Our busy lives usually involves noise, communication and interaction and we need time away from external influences to listen to our body. Listen to your breathing, feel your heart beating and imagine your heart pumping blood around your body. Remember how amazing your body is, functioning in a million different way to ensure you stay alive and healthy. Switch off computers, phones and radios. Tell everyone around you not to disturb you unless there is a fire. You will feel radiant and glowing and deal with life’s ups and downs in a calmer and more controlled way just from 10 minutes of Meditation. You may even find your aura of calmness impacting on how others respond to you for the better.
5. Random Acts of Kindness
Being pack animals, which we are, we need social interaction. Now these experiences of social interaction can be positive or negative. There is no way of controlling other people’s moods or actions but what you can do is control how you respond to other people’s actions. I say respond and not react. Responding is controlled, well thought out, measured behavior. A reaction is usually an emotional response like shouting or crying. People tend to have a less positive responsive to an emotional outburst and will remember your reaction long after the event, especially if it was a negative reaction.
If you get used to doing random acts of kindness wither it is for your family, friends or complete strangers, you will find people are more likely to respond positively towards you. They will be more forgiving when you have off days and you will feel part of a bigger community as a result. You will be supporting them and they in return will support you.
Have you done any random act of kindness recently? Share with us in the comments below.