How to Be Happy Every Day

In this article today I would like to talk about several tips, tricks, and tactics that almost everybody can use to help be a happy person day in and day out.

Here in America we live in one of the most abundant societies in the history of the world. The American dream has been realized by tens of millions of people. We all have so much; from big houses to fancy cars to flatscreen TVs with hundreds of high definition cable channels and so much more, yet most of us are miserable almost constantly and that's an incredible shame. Fortunately there are some very simple things that we can do to help become happy and that's what I'm going to talk about in this article today.

The first thing you need to do is take responsibility for your mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes, it's a part of life and in fact it's a great part of life because mistakes are what we use to learn from. Without mistakes we can't grow so don't look at mistakes as a negative, instead look at them as a positive. Learn what you can from them, then put them from your mind and move forward.

The next thing you can do is take a small timeout during the day at some point. Go for a short nature walk if at all possible. You don't have to work up a sweat, this is not an exercise activity it's just something simple that you can do to help clear your mind and get a little rest and stress-free relaxation in the middle of your hectic day.

The next thing you should focus on is in dealing constructively with criticism. People are going to criticize you either at home or at work because it's a part of human nature. You can either take offense at the criticism or learn from it and move forward and that is what I suggest you do.

Another great thing you can do is use mental imagery. Holding positive images in your mind helps remove negativity because if you're focusing only on positive, there isn't any room in your mind for anything else. Positive thoughts just make you happy that's all there is to it so the more time you can spend thinking about positive things the better off you will be.

Finally, if you can't take a short walk during the day to relax then at least put aside a few minutes to meditate. I'm not some goofy meditation nut. What I mean by meditate is to simply take a few minutes to sit quietly in a non-noisy place and take 10 long deep breaths followed by 20 short breath all the while focusing on something positive like your favorite place or favorite activity. Just taking 5 to 10 minutes to sit quietly and breathe peacefully can make a huge difference in your overall happiness.

15 Awesome Ways to Cheer You Up When You Feel Down

Are you feeling down or a little sad? Don't worry because I just came up with 15 awesome ways to cheer you up. I'm close too 99% certain that at least one of these ways will put a smile on your face and put you in a better mood! Time to cheer up!

Breathe
Take 5 minutes and consciously breathe. Count your breaths, inhale and exhale. When you focus on breathing, you will notice that you become more relaxed and your worries and troubles melt away.

Friends
I'm talking about the sitcom. I have probably watched every episode ten times and it always gets a smile on my face. Feeling down? Just watch an episode or two and your mood will lift.

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Just Google 'Arnold Schwarzenegger switchboard' and you'll understand what I mean. It is an online switchboard with recorded clips from Arnold and his awesome accent. Guaranteed to make you feel better!

Saying Images
Since I found this site I've been in love with it. No essays or articles, just unique and original pictures with a message. Very cool.

Ice-Cream
Stuffing yourself with your favourite flavour ice-cream always does wonders. It might not be healthy and it might not be a solution, but damn, it tastes good and makes you feel better!

Paint
Get a canvas or a wall or something that you can paint on and let your emotions flow. Let the paintbrush and colors flow freely and your mood will lift.

Friends, Food and Movies
Ask your best friends to come over for the night, get some good movies and great food and just hang out. You don't even have to say anything to each other, just enjoy the movies, food and each other's company.

Play With A Dog
Dogs never seem to have big troubles. They are always energetic and up for fun. Ask someone who has a dog if you can borrow it for the day.

Bubble Bath
Draw a nice warm bath full of bubbles and bath salts. Relax and soak your troubles in the water and leave them behind when you get out of the bath.

Sing
You may not be in the mood to sing, because generally people only sing when they are happy. Put on your favourite song and sing along. You will begin to feel better and it might even change your mood completely!

Create Something
I mentioned painting earlier, but you can do anything you want. Pottery, drawings, carpentry, paper-mache, a song and Lego are some ideas. Be artistic and just make something with your own two hands, it will make you feel better!

Bake a Cake
Yep, even if you are a guy, baking a cake once in a blue moon can be fun. It can be fun to whip up all the ingredients and create something delicious, especially when you are feeling a little down. If your cake comes out perfectly, you can devour it to make you feel even better!

Buy Yourself Flowers.
A fresh bouquet of beautiful flowers always cheers me up. They smell amazing and look so pretty. I can often notice a big lift in my mood when I have flower in front of me for a few hours.

How to Become Happier and Live a Happy Life

Perhaps, like most people, you have moments of emotional suffering when you ask, "Why me? How can I be happy? What will it take for me to be happier in life?" If you frequently have the thought that life is intolerable, and especially if you have ever thought of ending your life, please get professional help, right now. If you very seldom have those thoughts, rejoice, and pass this article on to a friend who is less joyful. But if your life swings between joy and suffering, even if life frequently appears gloomy, know that you CAN be happier in life. A conscious choice for happiness followed by an intentional program of focusing your thoughts and actions toward joyful living can transform your whole existence and give you the happier life you long for.

While it appears that some people are just naturally happy, others struggle with the events of the world. Although it is true that life weighs more heavily on some than on others, happiness is not in proportion to the circumstances of life. In fact, happiness may actually be nearly independent of what happens outside of ourselves. As extreme examples, people in concentration camps have expressed a joy and gratitude for life, while people in the best of health and the most privileged of circumstances have been so unhappy they chose to end their own lives.

There are five factors that determine one's happiness: Genetics, Past Experiences, Current Circumstances, Support Network, and Attitude.

Your Attitude is the single biggest factor in your happiness. While you can certainly change your attitude toward life and become happier, it is not as simple as just repeating, "I am happy. Life is good. I am happy." Positive affirmations can help in creating a happier life, but they are inadequate by themselves - to the point of deserving the criticisms some have heaped upon positive affirmations.

Here are some actions you can take to become happier in life...

1. Honor yourself. By "honor yourself," I mean to respect yourself and to hold yourself in high regard. This process is more commonly referred to as "building self-esteem," but I find "self-esteem" to be something of a wimpy term. Think about your feelings toward your greatest hero. Those feelings are Honor. Whether your greatest hero is a patriotic figure, a war hero, a religious martyr, or your favorite grandparent, feel the emotion that thinking about that person evokes in you and hold onto that feeling. You are a great and wonderful person, and you deserve to have those feelings toward yourself. Honor yourself by becoming your own greatest hero. Make a daily practice of honoring yourself. List your great qualities and honor those qualities. Honor your accomplishments, honor your choices, honor your vision for your life.

2. Give thanks for all of life. Gratitude is another key to happiness. The lack of gratitude is essentially resentfulness, and being resentful is incompatible with happiness.

3. Forgive everyone, especially yourself, for everything ever done or not done. Forgiveness is a key to happiness. No one can be resentful or regretful and happy at the same time. Release your resentments and regrets to allow space for joy to enter your life.

4. Appreciate your Support Network. If you have friends and family who support your values and goals, have gratitude and utilize your network. If you don't yet have a powerful support network, make it a priority to surround yourself with people who are joyful, open minded, and supportive. There is a strong correlation between a person's happiness and the happiness of those he associates with. Spend more time with happy people and less time around unhappy people.

5. Have a Life Purpose. Choose your life purpose and live your life in fulfillment of that purpose. While there are many techniques for selecting your life purpose if you don't already know your life purpose, I recommend what I call the "Tombstone Exercise." The Tombstone Exercise is a short version of what Werner Erhard, the designer of the Landmark Education programs, termed "Designing the Future from the Future." Visualize your own tombstone many years from now. What do you want to see written on your tombstone? Hold that vision and picture what must have been accomplished just before the final goal. then work your way back, one accomplishment at a time, until you have walked the time-line back to the present. What step do you visualize being accomplished today to ultimately reach the goal you saw written upon your tombstone?

6. Begin Today. Take a step toward your Life Goal today.

7. Persevere - Have Commitment. Happy people don't give up or waver. You may choose to change your goals. You may choose to change your tactics for reaching your goals. But persevere and stay committed.

8. Hold your Intent (also called Intention). There is power in affirming, "It will be thus." There is power in speaking your Intent to the Universe. If you are overly skeptical, just move on to the next action for happiness; otherwise trust and affirm your Intent for the future. Speak your Intent (or prayer) with gratitude for something that certainly will happen rather than hope that something might happen.

9. Celebrate. Celebration is an expression of Gratitude. Gratitude is like the prayer, while Celebration is the hymn and sacred dance. Celebration is a road to happiness.

10. Feel Unity with Spirit and All Creation. While it is possible to live a joyful life without a relationship with one's Higher Power, basking in Unity with Spirit and All Creation is the most powerful and quickest path to happiness. It is simply not possible to fully experience being one with Spirit and All Creation and remain unhappy.

11. Be of Service. Above and beyond the good your service will be to the world, being of service is good for your happiness. As a bonus, in the process of being of service, you are likely to associate with happy people, which will also tend to improve your own happiness.

12. Fake it until you make it. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." Until you can feel happy, just pretend you are happy, and soon the actor's mask will become real.

Enjoy Life After Work

You can enjoy life so much more if you have a positive mental outlook. When things don't happen quite the way you might want, look at what you learned from the experience. so you don't make the same mistakes again and you can take forward any learning when the same situation happens again you will react more effectively next time.

Be a glass half full person rather than a glass half empty. If something doesn't work out the way you hoped decide what you would do differently next time and take whatever was positive from it.

If you've had to leave work in an unplanned way because of ill health or if you've been suspended because, or on suspicion, of malpractice, then you may be feeling very upset and confused about what's happening to you. You may feel angry about how unfairly life has treated you, or guilty about something you did which became much bigger than you imagined it could. In these circumstances it may seem impossible to enjoy life again. Amidst all the negative aspects of the situation what might be the benefit to you of this happening at this time?

It is so important to enjoy life, have a laugh, see the funny side of those situations that upset or frustrate you. Step back and find an individual or a group to support you during the difficult times. Others who have been through similar situations can often give you words of comfort and guidance and it's reassuring to know and realise that others have been through similar experiences to you.

If you find yourself becoming bothered about something or someone, try picturing the person as a cartoon character, or a clown. Imagine them speaking with a squeaky voice or singing everything. You may be surprised how doing this can diminish the anger or frustration you were feeling about what happened. When you make a joke of it either by telling the story to someone else, or picturing it in your own mind's eye, you will change the way you perceive the circumstances.

If you are leaving work because you've reached the regular retirement age and realise your thoughts are full of dread or apprehension about what the future might have in store for you, then seeing the funny side of life is even more important. There is life after work. Only you can decide what sort of a life it will be.