How To Be Happy With Your Life: 12 Tips & Ideas To Consider

How To Live a Positive & Happy Life

When it comes to how to be happy with your life, there is one thing I think we can all agree on.

There is no one size fits all approach. No formula or script that if followed exactly will produce never-ending happiness.

You did not miss an email offering a crash course on life and the surefire way to achieve eternal bliss.

I’ll go check my spam folder one more time for all of us just to be sure though!

But here’s the thing.

Even though there are no secrets or quick fixes that will automatically better our lives, there is an abundance of information in the world.

We all know there is no shortage of tips, tricks, and advice on anything and everything.

And all of this information available to us is a tool.

With everything in life, the best thing you can do for yourself is to take what serves you and leave the rest. It is extremely unlikely that every single thing you read will resonate with you.

Think of a food buffet. Most people do not like every single item offered.

That is fine. Isn’t that one of the beautiful things about life. There are so many different perspectives and ideas and opinions.

And we get to create our very own unique plate.

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Here Are 12 Ideas All About How To Be Happy With Your Life

1) Let it Out

Maybe you are navigating your way through a particularly tough time.

Maybe you have been riding the struggle bus for too long and can’t seem to find a way off.

Or maybe nothing is specifically wrong. You just feel a little blah. We have all been there.

Or maybe you are just riding a wave of inspiration and you want to change things up.

A brain dump or a feelings dump is always a great place to start.

Clutter in our minds can spill over into every area of our lives. And this can be super overwhelming.

An abundance of negative (or positive) thoughts can stop us in our tracks.

Grab some paper and get ready to give yourself the gifts of release and relief. (I highly suggest gifting yourself a nice journal… I am a firm believer that a journal you love will be used more often)

Here are some simple prompts that can help to get the words and thoughts and emotions flowing.

I feel…

I am…

Happiness is…

I want to…

I feel good when…

If I could start improving one thing today it would be…

I am struggling with…

Writing things out can help you dig deeper into the little nooks and crannies of your life. And that digging is truly beneficial.

2) Adjust Your Priority List

It needs to include you.

I am still so shocked when I put dishes and laundry higher than myself on every list I make.

Yep, I still struggle with this. What can I say? I am a work in progress.

And as much as we can laugh off this idea of forgetting about ourselves, there is a point where it starts to take a toll on our lives and our happiness. That’s not funny.

You are important. You matter.

I repeat that to myself all the time. It can just serve as a teeny tiny bite-sized reminder that true happiness in your life will be pretty hard to come by if you treat yourself like an afterthought.

3) Small Pockets of Joy

Very small tweaks or small habit changes can have such an impact.

But we often want big changes and we want them to happen by Friday at the latest.

My Grandma always got up VERY early. Sometimes, I would wake up and find her sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and she’d be staring out the window into her yard.

That time every morning brought her joy. And when I was young, it did not make nearly as much sense as it makes now.

Much of life is ordinary days. Most days are not filled to the brim with excitement. That is life.

But if we look for small ways to add some joy to our day. Small things that make us smile or laugh.

That’s where it’s at. In the small pockets.

4) Gratitude

This is a great way to just adjust the lens through which you view your day-to-day life.

There is good in the world. It is just very easy for the good to be overshadowed by the bad.

How often has one negative experience in a day (no matter how big or small) had a lasting impact on how that day went for you?

People tend to hold on to the unpleasant. But we can be very quick to let a positive interaction or experience slip our minds.

This is where gratitude can lend a hand.

Will gratitude change your life overnight? No. Of course not.

Can it change your life if you make it a consistent part of your life? Definitely.

Think of one thing right now that you are grateful for today. Something small. Something that may even seem like it doesn’t matter much.

Make it your mission to seek out one small thing every day to be grateful for.

5) Stop Searching

Often I think we can view happiness as some massive thing we are on a quest to find.

Like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Or hidden treasure that pirates search for.

Happiness isn’t something we need to chase.

If we focus so much of our energy on looking for it, then we might end up missing things that are right in front of us.

6) Comparison is…

It really is the thief of joy.

Comparison has this way of quickly taking over your life. And it sucks. Plain and simple. It totally sucks.

Someone will always have more than you. Someone will always have less than you.

The more we focus on others, the more our own lives will feel lacking.

And comparison can also convince you that you want things you really don’t.

This is when it becomes critical to take a look at what you consume. Social media can be a great tool for connection but there is for sure a downside to it.

Now, I am human just like you. Which means it is very difficult to rid our lives of comparison forever.

Here are some ideas that can help stop the infestation when the comparison bug starts creeping around.

7) It’s Not All or Nothing

Living a happy life does not mean that nothing bad ever happens.

Your life (just like everyone else’s) will go through ups and downs.

But a rough patch doesn’t equal an unhappy life. Just like good times do not automatically equal happiness.

Think of success and failure. Those concepts are in opposing corners, right?

But there is a lot that goes on in the space between them.

Embrace the idea of AND…

Viewing things from a black and white perspective can be dangerous.

Often we say I feel sad but I should be happy.

There is room for both. There is always room.

More than one thing can be true. You can love certain parts of your life and still be struggling with other parts.

An all or nothing or a black and white viewpoint doesn’t leave much room for real life. A majority of real-life happens in the gray areas.

8) Build a Better Relationship With…

Yourself.

End of story.

The relationship you have with yourself is so important. And it has an impact on every other relationship in your life.

9) Be Present

Let go of what you think life should be.

Now, this is not to say you should not have goals or things you want to achieve. Goals get two thumbs up from me. (here are some fun tips on goal setting and achieving)

But this is about not putting life on hold until you have done X, Y, and Z.

We can easily spend too much time dissecting our past or anticipating our future.

Let’s not forget that life is going on right now. Today.

Don’t neglect the present. Look at it this way. Soon the present will be the past. And you don’t want to be looking back with regret.

10) Celebrate More

How often have you said these three words?

No big deal.

I found myself saying them all the time. About everything.

About things that actually mattered to me. But still, there I was. Spitting out words that were not at all representative of how I was truly feeling.

Life is meant to be lived. OK, I know that might sound a little (or a lot) cheesy. But even so, it’s true.

Let’s celebrate the big stuff. Of course!

But let’s celebrate the small stuff too.

You know what? Let’s celebrate whatever the heck we want to. Just because we want to.

In my house, we celebrate Sunday nights with an ice cream sundae. Get it. Ice cream sundae Sunday.

Celebrating doesn’t require a big, special occasion.

11) Don’t Neglect The Basics

Sleep. Food. Water. Exercise.

It can be extremely beneficial to strip things down a little and look at how you are treating yourself.

Sometimes you just need to take a small step back and examine if your habits are benefitting your life.

Chug some water and resist the urge to watch one more episode on Netflix. (this is a reminder for myself… dang you Netflix)

12) Recognize Your Power

It is often easy to feel as if life is happening to you. It can feel like you don’t have a choice in what is going on around you.

And let’s be completely real here, there are situations that we do not have complete control over.

But every day is a reset. Isn’t that empowering?

You can make a change or make a different choice. Every single day.

Your life is not set in stone. Your attitude or reaction toward something is not the way it has to be forever.

And being able to pivot is an underestimated life skill. Flexibility and openness can be key players and game-changers in your life.

Happiness is a journey. It’s a journey without a destination.

And the best thing you can do is check up on your life more.

Check on yourself more.

Have any tips on how to be happy with your life? Definitely share!

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