23 Aug 4 daily habits of truly happy people
I’m a big fan of happiness AND of habits.
In fact, if you’re on Audible, I have a whole series of habits for happiness audiobooks, FREE for members / subscribers (HERE).
And although much of it is “common sense”, we don’t always do what we know we “should” do and even if we do, most of the time, a good reminder is never wasted.
So, for those of you interested in habits for happiness, read on …
via Forbes by Kristine Gill
The happiest country in the world is Finland, according to the 2023 World Happiness Report. But short of moving across the ocean, experts agree there are ways to improve your own happiness regardless of where you live.
“Happiness is a habit,” says Talia Soen, CEO and founder of Happy Things, a platform that helps you build those habits with daily activities.
Soen claims happiness has not always come easily for her. Her oldest brother has a much higher baseline of happiness, and as she reflected on that difference she decided to start an app as a way of improving her life based on the science behind happiness.
“A lot of people think of happiness as something unrealistic or out there and difficult to grasp,” she says. “We’re trying to break it down into something really teachable and approachable.”
Many experts agree, there are steps you can take to achieve happiness independent of life circumstances. Here’s a look at the habits they say happy people tend to engage in.
Cultivating a positive mindset
Soen goes by researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky’s definition of happiness, which says, “The experience of joy, contentedness, or positive well-being combined with the fact that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”
Soen believes there’s something to be said for finding happiness in the little moments in life.
“It’s really true and it’s about being mindful and incorporating those things actively in our daily life and not just waiting for them to happen,” she says.
One way to actively cultivate happiness is to start a gratitude journal. Experts agree that a meditation practice helps many to recognize and revel in the parts of their lives that bring joy, both great and small.
Similarly, a positive mindset has been shown to increase happiness.
“It’s an evolutionary mechanism for us to focus on the negative because it keeps us safe, but that also increases our stress cortisol, which has negative effects,” Soen says.
Meditation is one way to learn how to shift your mindset, but Soen has never had much luck on that front. Instead, she finds she’s able to reach meditative states while running or practicing yoga.
“So it’s not necessarily sitting in a dark room with candles,” she says…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE