9 Daily Habit that will make you happier
by Geoffrey James
Happiness is the only true measure of
personal success. Making other people happy is the highest expression of
success, but it's almost impossible to make others happy if you're not happy
yourself.
With that in mind, here are nine small
changes that you can make to your daily routine that, if you're like most
people, will immediately increase the amount of happiness in your life:
1. Start each day with expectation.
If there's any big truth about life, it's
that it usually lives up to (or down to) your expectations. Therefore, when you
rise from bed, make your first thought: "something wonderful is going to
happen today." Guess what? You're probably right.
2. Take time to plan and prioritize.
The most common source of stress is the
perception that you've got too much work to do. Rather than obsess about
it, pick one thing that, if you get it done today, will move you closer to your
highest goal and purpose in life. Then do that first.
3. Give a gift to everyone you meet.
I'm not talking about a formal, wrapped-up
present. Your gift can be your smile, a word of thanks or encouragement, a
gesture of politeness, even a friendly nod. And never pass beggars without
leaving them something. Peace of mind is worth the spare change.
4. Deflect partisan conversations.
Arguments about politics and religion never
have a "right" answer but they definitely get people all riled up
over things they can't control. When such topics surface, bow out by saying
something like: "Thinking about that stuff makes my head hurt."
5. Assume people have good intentions.
Since you can't read minds, you don't really
know the "why" behind the "what" that people do. Imputing
evil motives to other people's weird behaviors adds extra misery to life, while
assuming good intentions leaves you open to reconciliation.
6. Eat high quality food slowly.
Sometimes we can't avoid scarfing something
quick to keep us up and running. Even so, at least once a day try to eat
something really delicious, like a small chunk of fine cheese or an imported
chocolate. Focus on it; taste it; savor it.
7. Let go of your results.
The big enemy of happiness is worry, which
comes from focusing on events that are outside your control. Once you've taken
action, there's usually nothing more you can do. Focus on the job at hand
rather than some weird fantasy of what might
happen.
8. Turn off "background" TV.
Many households leave their TVs on as
"background noise" while they're doing other things. The entire point
of broadcast TV is to make you dissatisfied
with your life so that you'll buy more stuff. Why subliminally
program yourself to be a mindless consumer?
9. End each day with gratitude.
Just before you go to bed, write down at
least one wonderful thing that happened. It might be something as small as a
making a child laugh or something as huge as a million dollar deal. Whatever it
is, be grateful for that day because it will never come again.
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