10 Tips To Increase Happiness

Whether you want to be a stay-at-home parent or a vet nurse, whether you want to earn enough money to survive or become a millionaire, whether you want to be single or have a family, EVERYTHING we do is to increase our happiness.
And obviously… WHY would we do something that makes us unhappy…?!
Think about it…
- we stay with a partner we don’t love to avoid hurting them (to keep us happy)
- we smoke even though we know it’s bad for us to fulfil an addiction (to keep us happy)
- we self-sabotage to make sure our subconscious mind knows it’s correct (to keep us happy)
- we stay in a job we hate to continue earning money (to keep us happy)

Happiness is an essential aspect of our wellbeing that contributes to our overall quality of life.
While it's normal to experience ups and downs, there are simple and effective ways to increase happiness and bring more joy into your daily life.

I have always been a happy person however there have been times in life that being happy seems like more of a challenge than a state of mind.
I learnt to be happier by using these 10 tips and hope they can have an impact on your happiness too.

1. BE HAPPY ALONE
   First and foremost, we must be happy in our own company with nothing external - no Netflix, no phone, no books, no food, no music, no distractions.
   Of course being around friends, watching our fave movie, completing a hobby or eating yummy food are all going to make us ‘happy’ however I like to say this is ‘dopamine hit happy’ - it can be a short-lived happiness if you are not happy alone.

2. FIND A HOBBY AND DO FUN THINGS
   There is nothing more cool than finding a hobby and being SO excited to be able to do it
   Schedule fun things to do throughout the week - this might be baking, making a piece of furniture, gardening or

3. GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
   We always love being in our comfort zone but nothing exciting happens there!
   Everyone is nervous before they skydive but they walk away feeling invincible, thrilled and happy.
   The same as everything in life - everything new is scary but until we get out of our comfort zone, we are always going to settle and not be 100% happy. Whether it be a new job, new relationships, new partner or a new gym class - you will feel so happy getting out of your comfort zone.

4. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH HAPPY PEOPLE
   We have all had those energy sucking people around us that are negative and unhappy - after spending time with them, we feel more like them.
   By surrounding yourself with people who are positive and happy, we feed off their energy and become a more positive person.
   They say you become the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.

5. ELIMINATE TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS
   On the flip side of number 4, eliminating toxic relationships in your life is going to help you feel more positive, more empowered, stronger, more in control and will improve your mental health.
   This can definitely be a challenging task however you will notice an INSTANT impact on your happiness by making this change.

6. FIND AN ENJOYABLE JOB AND CAREER
   Imagine waking up every morning dreading work, spending the day looking at the clock and living for 5:00pm knock off and the weekend…
   Versus - waking up excited and fulfilled, loving your job, feeling a sense of purpose and enjoying what you do.
   Of course the latter is going to be the one thing that brings so much joy and happiness to us - we spend so long working in our lives, let’s not make it a chore.
   (from experience, this was the biggest impact on my own happiness being down the toilet which makes me incredibly passionate about this)

7. IMPROVE HEALTH AND MINDSET
   Everything from prioritising self-care, improving nutrition, scheduling exercise or practicing stillness.
   When you are healthy, you feel better physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually - I need like 4 blog posts at least to list the benefits of this!
   And of course, having a positive mindset is going to increase happiness for all of the obvious reasons.
   A little sub-topic here is improving self-esteem (this absolutely should be an 11th tip however ‘10 tips to increase happiness’ sounds better!)
   By increasing our self-esteem and loving ourselves unconditionally, we are able to eliminate comparison and judgement which are two very influential areas to our happiness. If you are always judging yourself or comparing yourself to other people, you are always going to be focusing on what you don’t have and what you are not.

8. FIND SUN (when possible!)
   There is something that hits differently about a beautiful blue sky day - science literally shows us that vitamin D boosts our mood and reduces depression.
   Obviously being out of our control makes it tricky however it is a good excuse to book a little road trip or holiday!
   When the sun comes out, prioritise going for a walk, reading a book outdoors or meditating under the rays.

9. BE GRATEFUL
   Focus on what you have, not what you don’t.
   If you constantly focus on everything you want and don’t have, of course you aren’t going to be happy!
   Spend time consciously practicing gratitude - for the people in your life, opportunities and experiences, lessons that have come from ‘negative’ events, your yummy morning coffee, even the fact you have access to a computer or phone to read this blog!

10. BE SELFLESS
    Oxytocin is the hormone which is release when we do something nice for someone else, along with serotonin and dopamine. All of these hormones regulate and improve our mood.
    Pay it forward when you buy your next coffee, cook a meal for a loved one, volunteer at a charity event or leave a cute anonymous note for a stranger.
    (and do it all without expecting recognition or anything in return)
    

In saying all of this, no one will ever be 100% happy 24/7 - remember it's okay not to be okay.
It doesn’t mean you’re broken or that your life is terrible.
Shit happens, we have bad days, hormones come out to play, stressful situations arise.
Let them be and when you feel good - move on.

Try incorporating one of these tips at a time.
This week you might write down 20 things you are grateful for each day, next week you might find a hobby and the following week you work on your relationships.