How To Live a Happier Life: 7 Surprisingly Simple & Helpful Ideas

Powerful Tips For Happiness in Daily Life

Do you know what I want? What I would do just about anything for.

The Cliff’s Notes on how to live a happier life.

I want a short and sweet breakdown of the important things. Some very brief bullet points that are all but guaranteed to lead me straight to the land of happily ever after.

Not too sure that is available at my local library, unfortunately.

So…while these ideas aren’t a surefire path to building your best and happiest life, this advice can definitely point you in a good direction.

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Here Are 7 Ideas on How To Live a Happier Life

1) Take Care of Yourself

Like really good care of yourself.

My husband likes to play video games. And he can easily lose track of time while doing this which results in him not getting nearly enough sleep. Just two consecutive nights of this choice have consequences for him.

He is irritable and simply not feeling his best.

Now, I can easily see the problem here but he has a harder time due to his deep love of video games.

And the answer is not for him to give up something he truly enjoys. But more of a balance could have a much better end result. (he always forgets that 38-year-old him and 23-year-old him have very different sleep needs)

Life (and all its moving parts) can be very complex and layered. But sometimes looking at the baseline of how we treat ourselves can be eye-opening.

Sleep. Eating habits. Water intake (this water bottle can help with this). Time spent outdoors (and not on our phones). Prioritizing ourselves and how we feel.

This stuff matters and will without a doubt have an immense impact on our overall satisfaction level toward our lives.

2) Put Your Phone Down

At least try to put it down more often.

Have you ever gone out to dinner or a get-together or really any event with lots of people and realized how many of those people are looking at their phones?

And some of them may be doing important things. I get it. But I am almost positive that it is not necessary for every one of them to be on that little device.

Phones have this way of sucking us in. Mindless scrolling is something we are all aware of (and most of us have probably done it).

That’s totally ok. This is not about being overly strict with how often you check your phone or being critical of yourself for enjoying your phone.

Phones are not the enemy!

This is about being more aware of how often your phone is in your hands. Then making some tweaks if need be.

Make sure you are looking up and actually experiencing and enjoying your actual life.

3) Get Clear

What do you want? What do you need?

How do you want your life to feel?

We are smacked in the face with so many outside influences. And this can severely cloud our judgment on what we want our lives to be.

When we take in enormous amounts of information, things can get a little murky. Information overload is real.

Grab a simple notebook and write about your life. This is one of my favorite ways to clear the clutter that can easily build up in my mind.

And it can provide some true perspective on the vision we have for our lives.

4) Feel All The Feels

Being happy or content with our lives in no way means that we feel chipper every minute of the day.

There seems to be this false narrative that if we are truly happy then we will wake up every single day wide-eyed and ready to take on anything with a smile on our faces.

This is just not the way it is. (at least not for a majority of us)

We all have stuff going on. And constantly learning how to navigate our way through challenges or unpleasant situations or circumstances is a huge factor in how much we enjoy our lives.

If things were always running smoothly or picture-perfect then happiness might seem like a no-brainer. If I was on a beach right now reading a good book in peace and quiet then there would not be a question of whether I was happy or enjoying my life.

But life is a tad more complex than that. And life is definitely not an endless kid-free vacation. (at least not in my case)

Again, I highly suggest grabbing a notebook and writing. Write whatever you want. How you feel. Issues you are struggling with. Dinner ideas. Anything.

Words on paper can be so powerful. Facing how we feel will always be much more helpful than trying to shove these feelings deep inside of us.

5) Focus on…

The small things.

The bulk of our lives will not consist of overwhelming excitement or grand adventures. And that’s ok. That’s just the way it is for most of us.

The big idea here is to see and appreciate all the small things in our daily lives which can drastically change how we look at and enjoy our lives.

Drinking coffee from your favorite mug. Listening to music that makes you feel good. Reading a great book. (I am obsessed with these)

The smell of the air when it rains. Wrapping yourself up like a burrito in your favorite blanket. Feeling the sun on your skin.

There are so many micro-moments of joy throughout the day that many of us are probably overlooking.

It feels like we have bigger things to worry about or focus on. And that can be true to a point. But there will always be “stuff” going on. ALWAYS!

The seemingly small things are equally deserving of our attention. And, of course, the positive payoff is always worth it.

6) Gratitude

Our brains like to recognize and acknowledge all the not-so-great things. Dang brains.

Name 3 things you are grateful for right now.

This idea sort of piggybacks on the idea of recognizing the small things.

Your life will never be completely stress-free or worry-free. Hills and valleys and just part of the deal.

But when we think in terms of highs and lows, our brains want to treat those lows like the main character. This means we have to put in a little effort and practice being intentional in what we notice in our day-to-day lives.

Having a gratitude journal is perfect for this. Put it next to your bed or next to the coffee maker or wherever your little heart desires. Just put it somewhere you’ll notice it daily.

Write a few things down every single day that you are grateful for. Doing this every day won’t make every problem or issue in life disappear… however, it can definitely positively impact your mindset.

7) Show Up

Try to be present in your everyday life. Practice being where you are. Really being there.

This is the creme de la creme of it all.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel like I am constantly rushing. Rushing to get to the next thing. Rushing to finish something.

Sometimes having a little pep in my step is necessary. Like when I am trying to get out the door to take my daughter to school in the morning and she has chosen to move at a snail’s pace.

But isn’t that how kids are? My kids’ behavior constantly reminds me to slow down. Be where I am. Notice what’s around me.

Appreciate my life and all its parts.

Life is not meant to be a race. And I don’t think any of us will look back and say we wish we would have rushed around more. I think we would say quite the opposite actually.

Have any tips on how to live a happier life? Share away!

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