Learn what happiness truly is and explore ways to find it every day. Here are effective strategies for finding happiness and creating a more fulfilling life.
It’s funny how we’re all in the pursuit of happiness and struggling to find it. It’s something everyone craves and yet is so difficult to attain. Some of us look for it in material things, while others look for it in relationships and achievements. Yet most of us feel like we’re failing at it. This is because happiness is born inside out. This means that it comes from within you. It’s not external. It’s not something to achieve, but it’s something to cultivate. You probably must’ve heard this many times and questioned what happiness is and how to find it. We’ll answer your questions below.
Try this short track about happiness with Dr.Shubha Vilas on SoulSensei.
What is Happiness, and Why is it Important?
According to Oxford Dictionary, happiness can be defined as ‘the state of being happy’. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Let’s elaborate on it. Quintessentially, happiness can be defined as an emotional state in which you feel joy, contentment, satisfaction and fulfilment. Most people talk about happiness in the present. They use it as a word to describe how they’re feeling currently. It’s a broad term, and happiness can mean different things to different people. This is why psychologists choose to use the word ‘subjective well-being’. This word perfectly sums up this emotion. It is each individual’s personal feelings about how they feel about life. However, two key components can broadly define happiness. Those are:
1. Emotional Equilibrium
We all experience negative and positive emotions throughout our day, but happiness comes from more positive than negative ones.
2. Life Satisfaction
This component depends on how content you feel with all the areas of your life, such as work, relationships, and anything else that you consider important.
There are also different types of happiness:
- Joy: A brief feeling of elation.
- Excitement: Looking forward to something with anticipation.
- Gratitude: Being thankful for all that you have in life.
- Pride: Feeling satisfaction for something you’ve achieved.
- Optimism: A positive and upbeat outlook on life.
- Contentment: Experiencing a sense of satisfaction.
Now that we’ve broadly understood happiness, let’s understand why it is so important in our lives:
Happiness affects our lives in many positive ways. It has been found to correlate with better mental well-being, longevity, and good physical health.
- It increases our satisfaction with life.
- It helps you become more resilient and have better coping skills.
- It can extend the longevity of your life by thirteen years.
- It lowers the level of stress hormones in your body, resulting in better physical health.
- It encourages positive behaviours like daily exercise, healthy eating and better sleep.
- It helps you build immunity, leading to fewer physical ailments.
How to Find Happiness in Life? Tips to Help You
If you’ve been wondering how to find happiness and, more importantly, how to find happiness within yourself, we’ve got some good news. You might feel like it is something difficult to experience, but there are some things you can do to be happier. Here are our top tips:
Building Self-Awareness
Get in touch with your emotions. Adopt a daily meditation practice and feel the feelings you’re feeling. Offer yourself love, acceptance and grace to experience every emotion, good or bad. This is one of the most crucial ways to experience joy every day.
Explore this short track on self-acceptance with Dr.Shubha Vilas.
Practising Gratitude
Maintain a gratitude list in which you write down ten things you’re grateful for daily. This practice will help you notice your blessings and boost your mood. This exercise is best done early in the morning or right before bed.
Try this gratitude meditation with Simran Pawa to cultivate a daily practice.
Setting Meaningful Goals
Achieving goals that you intrinsically want to pursue will help you stay motivated. Goals focused on your personal growth or adding to the greater good of the community can help boost happiness compared to materialistic goals.
Cultivating Kindness
Let go of grudges, anger, and judgment. Open your heart to your own and others’ painful feelings. Practise active listening. This will make you feel less lonely and help you become a more compassionate human being.
Prioritising Self-Care
Build a routine and prioritise taking care of yourself in that routine. Exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and eating healthy are just the basics. You can additionally schedule time every week to do something you enjoy.
Being Present
Living and enjoying every moment might seem cliché, but it is one of the most effective ways to increase happiness. Sometimes, we lose track of enjoying what we’re doing and focus more on the result. The key is to be present in the moment and practice mindfulness.
Explore this short video on daily mindfulness practices with Dr.Devika.
Reframing Negative Thoughts
If you find yourself in a rut of pessimistic thoughts, look for ways you can reframe your mindset. It’s not about ignoring the bad but seeing the silver lining in the situation. Try to notice the patterns that lead you to negative thinking and work towards changing them.
Happiness can be defined as the state of being happy. The two key components of happiness are emotional balance and life satisfaction. The more positive emotions you experience and the more content you feel with all areas of your life, the happier you are. Many types of happiness include joy, gratitude, pride, excitement and optimism. Happiness is essential in our lives because it leads to better mental health, physical health and overall well-being. Some ways to increase happiness are building self-awareness, cultivating kindness, practising gratitude, reframing negative thoughts and prioritising self-care.
Sources
- Very Well Mind – What does happiness mean? By Kendra Cherry
- Positive Psychology – What is happiness, and why is it important? By Courtney E. Ackerman
