Happiness is not something you postpone for the future;
it’s something you design into the present.
Nobody can pull you down if you raise your awareness to your own inner strength and positivity. You are in charge of how you react to the people and events in your life. You can either give negativity power over your life, or you can choose to be positive instead by focusing on the great things that are truly important.
Here are ten simple strategies for doing just that:
- Nurture your inner child. – You need to put your own fulfillment and needs at the top of your priority list. There’s an inner child within you who needs your love and patience. If you’re always telling her to quiet down, to sit still and stop that bouncing… if you’re always reminding her that her thoughts aren’t real, just pretend, and that good girls do what they’re told… how will she ever be able to imagine a fulfilling life for herself as she grows, or be able to jump for joy when she finds it?
- Let loose and be a little silly. – Sometimes a little silliness is all you need to get a better perspective of life’s challenges. Silliness is the carefree, sometimes crazy, and often misunderstood stepsister of happiness. May you be a friend to both, and smile your way through life’s twists and turns. Read The Happiness Project
. - Mind your own business. – Those who accept you are your friends. Those who don’t are your teachers. If someone calls you something and it’s true, it’s not a problem because it’s true. If someone calls you something and it’s not true, it’s not a problem because it’s not true. So either way, whatever they call you is not a problem. What they call you is their business. What you call yourself, and who you decide to become, is your business.
- Stop the comparisons. – The more you judge and compare yourself to your fantasies of how you should be, could be, or would be, the worse and worse you will get at everything. Such negative comparisons gradually de-motivate you, keeping your growth potential completely caged by the enormous resistance from your own thinking. On the flip-side, the more you love and accept yourself exactly the way you are, the better and better you will get at everything. Such self acceptance creates emotional freedom which inspires you to grow to your fullest potential.
- Focus on making the best of the present. – You can’t be happy if you’re carrying the burden of the yesterday on your shoulders. Did you make a mistake? Did you have a terrible experience? Whatever it may be, the past is history and there’s nothing you can do to change it. So breathe in the future and breathe out the past. Focus on making the best of the present, and the past will take care of itself. Read The Power of Now.
- Count your blessings one by one. – To be happy doesn’t mean you don’t desire more, it means you’re thankful for what you have and patient for what’s yet to come. Sometimes we get so caught up in seeing what we don’t have, that we fail to notice the little things that give life its magic. The foolish person seeks happiness in the distance; the wise person grows it under her feet. Your life is filled with blessings and achievements, take the time to accept and appreciate these gifts.
- Help others find happiness. – Happiness doesn’t come through selfishness, but through selflessness. Everything you do comes back around. Greet people with a smile. Encourage them. Compliment them. Notice their progress, cheer them on, and make them smile. Smiles are contagious. The more happiness you help them find, the more happiness you will find.
- Think about how far you’ve come. – The precursor of every positive outcome is a positive thought. So in the heat of the moment when you feel like quitting, think about how far you have come and why you started in the first place. Notice how fortunate you are, how supported you are, and how you are gradually being guided towards your aims. It is already happening, the more you notice, the more of it you will realize and see. Trust this light of gratitude to lead you through all the long, winding and misty roads of life. Do so and you will eventually arrive at your destination with a smile.
- Visualize your ideal path. – Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine what your life looks like five years from now, and ten years from now, if you continue to live the way you’re presently living? Look at your trajectory. Where does your current path lead? Notice how you feel. Does it give you a sense of happiness, excitement and peace? If yes, that’s wonderful; feel the gratitude. If not, what small, yet significant changes can you begin making right away that will put you on a more fulfilling path? Visualize yourself joyfully and harmoniously making these changes. And begin. Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
- Invest your time in the things you love. – The most important decision you will ever make is what you do with the time that is given to you. Trust me, before you know it you’ll be asking, “How did it get so late so soon?” So put your time to good use, and let yourself be drawn to the strange pull of what you love; it will not lead you astray. Above all, live your life so that when you’re old, you never have to let the person you became fanaticize about the person you were capable of being.
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.Photo by: J.T. Noriega
Shae Shae says
This is great happiness advice! I know a lot of negative people who are miserable simply because they haven’t grasped the concept that happiness is created based on your daily habits, not stumbled upon by accident.
Merry says
Great article and a message many, many people need to hear. I would encourage anyone reading this (and I encourage my coaching clients) to practice gratitude EVERY day. Beginning your day with it is the best way to jumpstart your happiness.
I don’t care how bleak things look, or how much chaos one is experiencing, there’s always something to be grateful for. As I once heard said, “even the homeless can be grateful for the grate that keeps them warm.” The amazing thing I’ve found about gratitude is that it begets more gratitude. Once you can find one little thing to be happy for, it leads to another. And another and another.
Thanks for the great read!
XO
AJay says
Thank you so much for all of your thought provoking, insightful advice. Reading your articles helps me look inside myself to better influence the world outside of me. I believe happiness is the best gift we can ask for and give to each other.
SARITA says
Awesome and thank you for sharing. Please keep these motivational and inspirational thoughts and ideas coming 🙂
Hope & Sugar says
Lovely post, such thought-provoking and timeless advise 🙂
Jennifer Mulder says
I especially like tip #2 – when you’re going through a difficult period, being silly for a moment can really lighten you up!
Another things that works for me is to purposely build tiny happy habits into your daily routine – listening to your favourite playlist on your way to work, send a caring text to a friend, or watch a comedy on Friday night.
tom44jenkins says
Loved number 5!
I am reading “The Power of Now” and half-way through it. It is a really good book.
All the other tips are great too…
Number 3 is another stand-out, and I know when somebody says something negative to me it does not affect me much, other than the fact that it disappoints me that so many people attempt to hurt other people with their negativity.
Keep up the great work!
Priscilla Muli says
Hi Marc and Angel.:)
I just want to thank you for all this beautiful advice you give us. You two must be two truly blessed people and the world blessed through you. In many other ways just not through this blog.
Your words have kept me going especially during the bad times. I can’t say enough how grateful I am for the two of you.
Thank you very very much.
Be blessed!
Sabrina says
As always, powerful words to carry with us throughout the day! Thank you for sharing and setting me straight everyday!
There is just one thing that I have to say that irks me in your title and you can thank Louise Hay for this. It’s the use of the word SHOULD. Ever since I read her brilliant book “You can Heal Your Life”, I have quite literally eliminated the word “should” from my vocabulary and it is quite freeing! 10 happy habits that you COULD start now…. Less obligation and more freedom of choice, yes??? Of course, this is just my humble opinion…. 😉
I still look forward to reading your lovely posts on a daily basis with mucho gusto! Peace.
Laura says
I love your posts, they have reminded me on so many occasions to be grateful and mindful. Especially like number 3 above. Reminds me of the saying that some people come into your life as a blessing, and some as a lesson.
Keep up your amazing work!
Cyn says
Your blogs always seem to make my day a bit brighter. Thank you!
What they call you is none of your business 🙂
Susanna @Happyologist says
Great post! Especially like making the best of the present, counting your blessings & helping others find happiness. The latter point is exactly why I started my blog Happyologist! 🙂
I recently blogged about happy habits too with tips on how to put them into action. Things like waking up early, exercise, learning new skills & having multiple opportunities for “wins” everyday all help boost happiness. (www.happyologist.co.uk/happiness/6-rules-to-build-happy-habits/)
Renee says
Impressively insightful and deep … as i read each “idea” outlined here today, every single one of them continue to be as poignant as the ones I began to read so many months ago when I first found your site.
Thank you, Marc and Angel for helping to open up our hearts and minds in such meaningful and positive ways. Stunning.
Clay says
Thank you for the great advice! Constant curiosity truly helps me enjoy everyday life and create little moments of happiness throughout the day. I always try to learn new things, observe nature, ask questions about anything I don’t know yet… At the end of the day, I am so thankful for all what I’ve been able to learn and discover – that’s my daily dose of simple happiness!
Elaine says
Thank you so much for your emails. I look back over my life a year ago and look at how far I’ve come! Your website has been instrumental in healing me. I wish you great blessings.
Anonymous Blogger says
I absolutely love the last point. I truly hope that I will not end up being older and wishing I had been more courageous to live my life to my fullest potential when I had the best opportunities to. Which are now. I must take heed. I must live like I have never lived before and forge ahead. This is a great post, I’m even going to print it and pin it to my board. 🙂
Naren says
Hi Marc And Angel,
I think its time for you to write a book together.
Regards
Ashna says
Another wonderful post! I must say that while reading points 1 & 2, it made me think of my best friend and I. When we are together, he and I have our own kind of personality- child like and only we can understand the language and love we share! We often joke about how we refuse to grow up and this side of us is only for each other! Thank you for this post. Every point made is so true and worth embracing! 🙂
Max says
#5… I’ve been through a tough situation in my life and I’m still hurting… but I gotta admit that moving forward is the right attitude to set you free from your fears and start over again. Hold on and never turn back!
Kenneth Vogt says
As I was moving down the list, I thought, “Wow, there’s a lot of good stuff here. I wonder who wrote this?” I checked. Angel…of course! The beauty of a list is in its options. You don’t have to do everything at once. Pick one, one that really speaks to you, then do it so you will be it. It would be hard to pick wrong on a list like this one.
renee barry says
This reminds me of what I wrote in my Friday’s post (but I could never express it the same way). Thank God for our differences, but shared spirit. And thank you for the positive confirmation.
kaeren says
i so agree with thought no. 3.
that’s what i always tell myself and my friends. no one can destroy you but yourself – what other people say about you, and the rumors about you, mean nothing. when your personality is “whole” no matter what they say about you, you can’t be shattered because it is not true and you, yourself know that.
Rachel says
Wow! So many inspiring, positive every day mantras. Thank you!
Jessica Locke says
Loved this post – as I do many of yours. I really find them motivational and they help keep me focused on being the best version of myself that I can be.
Namaste!
Frugal Expat says
Great article!
#6 and #10 are still working in progress for me. Everyday I always want to remind myself to be grateful for what I have.
Kumar Gauraw says
Wow! I got to read this article today and I enjoyed it very much. I think all the 10 points are awesome. However, I loved the way this quote set the tone for the whole post:
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it’s something you design into the present.”
Thank you for sharing!
Regards,
Kumar
Rudy says
Inspiring post Marc n Angel.. You did a great job with this one.
Geeshelle says
Love this site so much!
Greg says
You make my day each time I read your columns
The common sense, no nonsense advice helps me immensely!
David says
The information you share is always Inspiring, nice post