When it's dark cold and miserable outside and things are not going quite to plan it's easy to get yourself in a pattern of "Can't be bothered" and even if it's not and you live in a sunny place like California things can get on top of you, I know. However if you can implement these happiness tips, a few simple changes into your routine it won't be long before you'll feel those dark clouds lift making space for lighter and brighter more positive thinking.
1. Get to bed at a decent hour and don't eat or drink anything after 7pm, is my top tip for cultivating happiness. We have to begin with the basics before any self-help book will!
2. Never let yourself get too hungry and not for comfort food but because you are too busy to eat. This behaviour not only makes you unhappy but will also confuse your metabolism and can make you fatter.
3. Our feelings always follow our actions, so if you are feeling depressed, hopeless and sad, like you hate everything and everyone, do something kind and thoughtful for someone else and your happiness level from watching their behaviour after your action, will lift you up, not take you down further.
4. Never treat feeling depressed and down with a pick me up or a fix because you will feel happy for a little while before guilt takes over then a sense of failure will take you down even further than before the fix. Let’s face it a big bar of chocolate will never make things better long term.
5. Feeling loved, secure and good at what you do with your life is the secret to feeling happy, so surround yourself with only things that do the above for real.
6. Go to sleep with a clear mind of all bad thoughts that way it doesn't continue on into your next day.
7. Identify the problems that make you feel unhappy then once identified you often discover a clear solution to put things right, you know that feeling of, why didn't I think of that, it’s simple and once you see this, things get put back into perspective again.
8. Keep your life simple by doing one thing at a time and make sure the things you do, you love, then squeeze every last drop of pleasure and enjoyment out of it before you go onto the next thing, which might be cleaning the toilet but at least you feel happy doing it.
9. Take up exercise, this produces chemicals in your brain, serotonin, to help keep you as high as a kite and it’s a free, healthy addiction I approve of but don't overdo it and become obsessed then ruin your knee joints forever, controlled indulgence is the key here.
10. Learn to meditate in nature and take up yoga to keep you feeling young, vital and full of energy, my top secret to feeling happy.
Photo by: Alex Block Unsplash