This year, the International Day of Happiness falls on 20 March, and the holiday is the perfect time to assess how satisfied you are with your life. The event serves as a reminder that the world is a much better place when we are kind to each other and ourselves.
If you’d like to incorporate more happiness into your life, here are 10 habits that the world’s happiest people embrace to provide some inspiration.
1. Be kind
Choosing to spread kindness is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your happiness. As well as boosting your own mood, you can also make someone else’s day at the same time.
Being known as a kind person also has the added benefit of helping you foster strong relationships with others, who are more likely to return the favour when you’re in need of help.
Simple ways to be kind include:
- Offering to help out a friend or co-worker
- Complimenting a stranger
- Encouraging a family member.
2. Keep learning
Never stop learning about topics that interest you. While some news can be upsetting, there are always inspiring things going on in the world that can restore your faith in humanity.
People who are naturally curious also tend to enjoy socialising more and can develop deeper connections with other people.
3. Practise forgiveness
Although it can be difficult, forgiving people allows you to let go of pain that you are holding onto. Once you have forgiven yourself or the person who caused you hurt, you can begin moving on with your life and growing as a person.
Refusing to hold a grudge will also teach you to move on from stressful situations much faster than other people, so you can go back to enjoying your life.
4. Follow your dream
Having an ambition that you strive towards on a daily basis is a fantastic way to encourage happiness in your day. It gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning and adds a sense of purpose to your life, leading to you feeling fulfilled.
Plus, think of how amazing it will feel to finally achieve your dream after all the hard work you’ve put in pays off.
5. Express gratitude
Research has discovered that people who expressed gratitude increased their happiness by up to 25%.
You can convey your gratitude in lots of different ways, depending on the circumstances. Sending thank you cards or messages, telling people how much you appreciate them, and offering to return the favour are all easy ways to show someone how thankful you are.
6. Surround yourself with other happy people
Often, it can be hard to identify the people in your life who are having a negative impact on you. But if you only ever interact with those people, their pessimistic outlook on life could start to influence you.
In some cases, it’s impossible to cut these people out of your life completely. However, even gradually reducing the amount of time you’re spending with them gives you more opportunities to develop your own happiness and build strong relationships with people who help you to feel more positive.
7. Be generous
Being generous doesn’t only mean you have to give away your wealth. Sharing other things – such as food, gifts, or handmade items – are all ways of being charitable.
A Harvard study found that giving money to someone else lifted participants’ happiness more than spending it on themselves. So, if you have money to spare, consider spending some of it on other people to make both of you happy.
8. Practise patience
Patience is an important life skill to have. Waiting and watching as the effort you’ve put into your life pays off is much more rewarding than instant gratification.
Furthermore, research has found that patient people tend to be less depressed and can cope better in stressful situations. Learning to slow down and enjoy your life, no matter how busy it gets, will make reaching your end goal even more satisfying.
9. Keep a gratitude journal
Keeping a gratitude journal is a fantastic habit to start. All you have to do is write down three things you are grateful for every day.
It’s a brilliant way to appreciate the good things in your life, rather than focusing on the bad. They are also very effective. A study found that after 21 days of keeping such a journal, productivity in participants rose by 31% and the likelihood of promotion increased by 40%.
10. Enjoy simple pleasures
Most people are familiar with the saying “money doesn’t buy happiness”. While that’s true, a more realistic statement is that “being without money can cause unhappiness”.
Once you’ve passed a certain threshold – being able to comfortably pay for all your necessities with some spending money left over – making extra money won’t necessarily increase your happiness.
Taking the time to slow down and enjoy what you currently have will likely bring you more happiness than stressing yourself out in an attempt to earn more money than you can spend.
Get in touch
If you’d like to find out how a financial plan could help you to achieve your goals, please get in touch. Either contact your financial planner directly, email us at hello@ascentawealth.com or fill in our online contact form to organise a meeting and we’ll get in touch.
