How to be happier: 11 simple tips

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Deep down, everyone dreams of happiness. And if earlier it seemed to be something unattainable (to someone it is given, and to someone it is not), today the science of the brain gives everyone the tools to find happiness. Here are 11 simple tips to help you get in a good mood and become a little happier now. And at the end of the article - the secret twelfth way only for the readers of Lifehacker.

1. Celebrate your little victory

Better yet, three wins. Take a piece of paper and write down three things that you did great - today, yesterday, or over the past week. You may not think so, but in fact you manage to achieve success every day. These are just small victories. But, if you notice them, the brain is enough to "turn on" happiness.

Celebrating small victories leads to the release of dopamine, the hormone of happiness. It's better than storing up dopamine while waiting for a big reason to rejoice. Plus, the pleasure of a big victory won't last long.

If you learn to celebrate little things, you can experience many little joys.

2. Get busy planning something new

Dopamine, one of the hormones of happiness, dramatically lifts our spirits. It is developed in those moments when we start new projects. Renovation of an apartment, a grand party or a move to another city - planning makes us active and excited, as it is connected with the achievement of important life goals.

So, if you are sad, urgently get down to the scenario of a children's holiday, your birthday, or sketch out goals and dreams for the coming year.

3. Do something unusual

Happiness is always there. You just need to make out it. And for this - to open your consciousness. A feeling of happiness and optimism will appear when you move beyond the current situation and free yourself from your own boundaries and limitations.

To get a dose of happiness, do what will give you a new experience. Watch a video tutorial of the Chinese language, read a book in a genre that is not close to you, talk with colleagues about what you do not understand (just not about work, of course). Try something new.

4. Smile

Psychologists have long proven that emotions, thoughts and facial muscles are linked. When you are in a good mood, you involuntarily smile. Right? The converse is also true. If you smile, your brain sends signals to your muscles: “What are you doing? Why do you behave as if you are happy? And he has no choice but to adjust emotions and thoughts so that everything is in harmony: both appearance and content.

Pretending to be happy means really feeling happiness after just a couple of minutes, because the brain does not tolerate mismatch.

Try it. You will feel better immediately.

5. Benefit from the phrase "I told you so!"

Surely you will like this method. Our brains are so designed that they crave social recognition, and when they receive it, they release serotonin, the hormone of happiness. This is what we propose to use.

Take a short pause to assess the benefits you are bringing to others. Mark this in your head. We, of course, called this method “The use of the phrase“I told you so!””, But it is only for you - not for those around you. Do not make such statements under any circumstances, because it offends people. Just look for even the smallest signs of respect for yourself and feel satisfaction from them.

6. Listen to your favorite song

Music gives a person pleasure because our brain, when it sounds, tries to predict what will happen next - which note will be next. Each prediction that comes true stimulates the release of dopamine, another hormone of happiness. So find your favorite recordings and enjoy the happiness.

7. Master everyday meditation

Mindfulness meditation is an easy way to bring joy and peace to your life. And by the way, it is not at all necessary to sit in the lotus position and sing "Om-m-m". Everyday meditation takes 2-5 minutes a day, and no one will even notice that you are meditating.

The benefit is that meditation teaches you to concentrate on what you need (not stress, but a feeling of happiness, for example) by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. This is confirmed by brain studies using a scanner. By the way, the same effect underlies the methods of psychotherapy and hypnosis.

How to Conduct a Household Meditation? Easily. Watch your breaths in and out (this slows your heart rate down and calms you down), focus only on your breathing, and try to stop the internal dialogue. It will get better every time. You can do this while eating, washing dishes, or taking a break from the monitor screen at work for a couple of minutes.

8. Use the technique of "involving questions"

The feeling of happiness is directly related to what we feel: whether we are responsible for our life as a whole and for every moment of it or not. It is worth focusing on how you yourself can change everything for the better, and not on how long to wait for the world to bring joy into your life. This will help you to make correctly formulated - involving - questions to yourself.

Write the following on a piece of paper, "Have I done my best today to achieve happiness?" And rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10. Most likely, you didn’t try your best ten. So here's the next step: figure out what you can do now to cheer up. This question can be asked about work, relationships, goals in life and in the short term. This is how you take today's day into your own hands and only from this you feel better.

9. Hug a loved one

Homo sapiens is a social being to the core. This is provided by mirror neurons, a number of hormones (dopamine, oxytocin) and even natural opiates, which, according to neurophysiologists, activate the cerebral cortex when we communicate with people we like. This is why it is so easy to cheer up with the support of those around you.

Positive relationships with people are even called social medicine. So, if you are sad, take an urgent dose of medicine: call your mother, chat with your friend, embrace the child. Incidentally, this not only gives a feeling of happiness, but also strengthens the immune system, reduces anxiety and even cholesterol levels. Real medicine!

10. Don't sit back

How do we behave on days when things are bad? No mood, I don't want to do anything. Crawling under the covers and not answering calls is a dream. However, our brain works differently: in fact, we need to act, at least trying to change the situation. This activates the left frontal lobe, which is responsible for optimism.

If you're feeling discouraged, sad, or just want to feel a little happier, take action. Start by focusing on the mood you want. Then you need to make an effort and do something that will help you move towards positive. You should try your best to do things that you don't really feel like going out to the movies with friends, even though you would rather stay at home because you are not in the mood.

This will not only make you feel happier right now, but also create a foundation for the future: the more you are active, the faster new neural pathways of happiness will be created.

11. Take a walk or do a couple of active movements

When you exercise, you experience a surge of positive emotions: physical activity fills your brain with oxygen, which also goes to your brain. In addition, activities, especially varied (for different muscle groups), cause a rush of endorphins. This is one of the quickest ways to get lucky. Enough 5-7 minutes for the mood to creep up.

At this point, your laziness has probably already launched an offensive and whispers: “Well, why do you need this. And so it will do. Everything is normal in your life. Don't give in. If you belong to the category of people who do not exercise at all, exercise will bring you a completely new sensation. And if in the past you were friends with sports and are worried about how you are doing, stop controlling the situation and calmly exercise for your pleasure.

If we feel “a little happiness” all the time and know how to evoke it at will, it is easier for us to see our dissatisfaction with the bad weather or unfriendly colleagues from the right angle and get rid of it. Every day can be happier. It all depends on you.

As promised, for the readers of Lifehacker - the twelfth way to become a little happier. Only for you - a discount on the novelties of the publishing house "MIF" about happiness and good habits: e-books "", "" and "". Enter the word GUSTO on m-i-f.ru, and the price will drop by 25%. All the tips in this article are from these books.

Based on the materials of the books of the publishing house "MYTH": "", "", "".