Life has a way of throwing dirt at you, which can take its toll on a person. With that being said, there’s no surprise that people search for ways of finding true happiness. Some people believe that happiness comes from having money, excelling in their job, or surrounding themselves with gadgets. Those people aren’t necessarily wrong, because happiness is defined differently for everyone. However, there are certain attitudes you can teach your brain that will help you become content. Finding your Zen goes further than filling your life with fake feelings of euphoria, like that achieved through materialistic gain. Throughout this article, we will support you in your pursuit of lasting happiness with 10 tried and tested methods.
Just Stop
In times of hardship and upset, just take a moment to take a break. Whether you’re unhappy with a person or event, take a deep breath and allow acceptance to flood your mind. You can’t change another person, and it’s not your responsibility, so give acceptance a go. Furthermore, every event has a silver lining – so stop and think about the bright side in life. Pausing for a few moments to collect yourself is a fantastic way to clear your mind and find happiness.
Let Go of the Past
You can’t control the past; all we can do is move forward and make a better today and tomorrow for ourselves. Holding onto regret and anger over people or events is never going to help you find happiness. Even learning how to get over being dumped can allow you to find contentedness. You’re allowed to feel pain over past events, but it’s important to start again and rebuild. Learning how to get over being dumped means training your mind to hold your head up high and walk away with dignity. Over on Ed Latimore’s website, you can find an incredible amount of information about how to let go of feelings of negativity in a range of situations. The man has an incredible outlook on life.
Stop Comparing Yourself with Others
You need to learn how to be satisfied with yourself and how to celebrate your own achievements, no matter how small. Everyone is different and will be working through life at different paces, so never compare yourself to other people. Who cares if your next-door neighbor is a little slimmer – they might look at you and envy your lifestyle. You never know what’s going on behind closed doors – just because someone looks happy on the outside, they can have a miserable life if you scratch beneath the surface.
Live for Now
Just exist in the present. There’s no point waiting to be happy and putting it off for a day when you feel less busy or less stressed because it may never happen. Instead, live your life one day at a time and try to find enjoyment throughout each day. Stop dwelling in the past and live for now. If you need to go for a walk to let some sunshine into your life, then do it. The things you think are important can wait – it’s what the answering machine was created for.
Demonstrate Appreciation
Every day, no matter what’s going on in your life, stop for a minute and think of one thing that benefits your life; it doesn’t matter whether it’s a pet, person, or place. Take this a step further by writing down these thoughts. Then, whenever you are feeling blue, you can look back on your journal and remind yourself of all of the things that add richness to your life. You’ll soon find your unhappiness slipping away.
Put a Pin in Materialism
Buying things is a great way to fill yourself with false satisfaction. The next time you find yourself with the urge to splash your cash, take a moment to decide if it’s something need or something you want. For best practice, leave it in your basket for a couple of days to see if the urge has vanished. If it has, you likely didn’t need it. Having material items in our life is a hollow way to achieve happiness which will never leave complete contentedness.
Enjoy Simplicity
Enjoyment doesn’t have to cost money. Learn to find happiness in simple things. Having a quality conversation with a friend over a coffee is a cheap way to improve your mental state. Also, reading a book can work wonders for your cognition and creativity. Alternatively, take a road trip and see where your journey takes you. You don’t have to spend a fortune to have a good time; you just need to let yourself be open to finding happiness through the small joys in life.
Meditation
Inhale, and exhale. Meditation is a fantastic way of allowing your mind to be at peace and flood with happiness. Let go of built-up anger, stress, and resentment to allow positive feelings in. You don’t need a lot to get started, and there are countless guides available online through various apps. Wellness apps can even guide you in other areas of your life, like exercising and eating healthier. Meditation doesn’t work for everyone because we’re all different. However, if you’re going to try it you need to patient, open-minded, and give different methods a go.
Reassess Your Goals and Values
You need to take a look at your goals and line them up with your own values. There’s no point in trying to achieve happiness through something you don’t believe in. Whether we like it or not, we are driven by our values and they make up an enormous part of who we are. Our values have a strong ability to settle us in times of hardship, so treat them right and work with them and you’ll find peace more often.
Look After Your Body and Mind
Looking after your body is important and can be a great source of happiness. Having the correct diet and exercising regularly is fantastic for staying in shape and improving your mental state. When we feel good about ourselves, we feel more confident, which allows us to go out into the world and achieve the things that we want to. Practicing a healthy diet alongside exercising will boost your body’s immune system and extend your life expectancy. Also, as you get older, you will be able to carry on practicing the things you love because you’ll be more agile – keeping hold of your leisurely activities as you age will boost your chances of lasting happiness. The search for happiness can be difficult, but training your brain to react in certain ways will put you in better stead. Letting go of the past, living in the now, and being thankful for something every day are all amazing ways you can find happiness. Learning how to enjoy the simple pleasures in life also helps add richness. Leaving materialistic happiness behind will help you leave false happiness in the past. However, there’s nothing wrong with finding slithers of happiness in the things we buy, but you can’t rely on it for true contentedness. Training your brain to cope through life is the best way to be successful in the pursuit of lasting happiness.