Steps for Creating More Happiness in Your Life

For 21 days do the following or try to do as many of the following as you can:

• List 3 different things that you are grateful for each day.
• Journal about or think about something meaningful that happened each day.
• Say thank you to or let someone know that you appreciate them each day.
• Exercise for at least 30 minutes each day.
• Meditate or sit in silence with yourself. Try to focus on your breath for at least 2 minutes.

Understand that:

• Happiness is a choice.
• Happiness spreads to others.
• Happiness is an advantage in life.
• Your behavior matters and it does make a difference in your happiness level. You can change/improve your happiness level.
• After working through difficult times, people report feeling more powerful, wiser and confident. Drawing meaning and growth from difficult times helps you feel happier.
• People that consider themselves happy are not happy all the time. It is ok to have a range of emotions.
• Having a spiritual connection and finding meaning in life makes people happier.
• The more meaningful connections to people, animals, activities, etc. you have, the happier you will feel. Try to diversify the things that give you meaning.
• Doing kind and helpful things for others brings greater happiness to us. Practice random acts of kindness.
• When you see yourself as a positive person, others will view you this way as well.

Other Steps to Create More Happiness:

• Write a message to your past self when you were going through a difficult time. Tell that past self that you made it through and remind them of how you have grown.  Doing this will remind you that you will get through current difficult times.
• Take time each day to shut out some of the external noise and the internal noise in your head, through sitting in silence, meditating, prayer etc. This will allow you to reflect and draw more meaning into your life.
• Limit how much negativity you expose yourself to, through T.V., internet, other people, etc. Exposure to too much negativity makes us feel as though the whole world is negative.
• Create positive mantras that you repeat daily, such as: “All will be well.” “This too shall pass.”
• Try to decrease coming up with hypothetical negative situations. This only heaps on the worry.
• Focus on what moves you forward.
• Think about something you are looking forward to and visualize it often. The brain cannot differentiate between imagining something and what is happening now.  It raises our happiness level.
• Don’t judge yourself for where you are at now. Things are always changing and will always change.