You might say to someone at some point in life, “I can’t be happy without you in my life” or “I need you here to make me feel better.” Well what if one day, they aren’t there. It’s just you, and you have no idea how to feel. Instead of relying on others to provide your happiness for you, take the initiative to put the happiness in yourself. Here are some ideas on how to start that bolt of happiness:
Create a list of 10 things each week that make you happy.
Make sure that at least one thing happens every day, but that the list is completed by the end of the week. My list for this week would look like:
Hot Chocolate
My friends
My hair when it is straight
The smell of lavender
When my things are organize
Making someone else smile
Flowers
To accomplish at least one thing a day I would:
Take a nap one day
Drink hot chocolate while I study
Call at least one friend from high school
Plan a day to look nice and straighten my hair
Read one chapter a day from my book
Take a break in between homework assignments and watch an episode of Hawaii Five-0
Go to Bath and Body Works and smell their lavender candles
Empty my junk drawer and reorganize it
Tell at least one person that they look beautiful every day
If there are no flowers in sight, I can look up fields of flowers on Pinterest
Make or download a “Get Happy” playlist.
While completing this playlist, keep an eye out for upbeat songs with a positive vibe to them. This should be a list of songs that you can listen to when you are feelings a little down in the dumps or just need a little pick me up.
“Fake it till you make it.”
According to the article “Smile! It Could Make You Happier”, Charles Darwin presented the idea in 1872 that “The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it.” So in laymen’s terms, if frown, you’ll feel more upset and if you smile, you’ll feel happier.
Have you ever heard of someone saying, “I just love the feeling after a good workout!” or they had a “runner’s high”? Well according to webmd, your body releases endorphin's when you exercise which will trigger a positive feeling in the body.
Set small goals for yourself
If you keep focusing on what you want ten years down the road, you might get a bit overwhelmed. Don’t forget about the big picture, but try setting small goals for yourself. You want to lose 20 pounds? Try something smaller like half a pound to one pound a week. You want to finish that new book series? Make the goal to read at least one chapter a night. This way, you can focus on other things as well as the main goal.
Now don’t get me wrong! Having others around you that make you happy are wonderful, but that initial happiness in yourself has to come from somewhere and who knows you better than you?
