I believe that being happy is a practice. A way of living that with enough practice anyone can do. There are exceptions, of course, there always are but for the most part happy just takes a little practise. I was stalking the web, as I do, and I came across this post from over 6 months ago and it made a list of 22 things happy people do differently. I loved it. I disagreed sometimes. But mostly I loved it. It was a practice makes perfect guide to being a happier person.
It got me thinking about what it is I would recommend to being a happier person. A person who tends towards to the lighter side of life. Someone who can find joy in a messy house and impossible situation. What would I say are my top tips? So I did what Bloggers do and I wrote this post so I could decide.
My top 5 tips to being a happier person are;
- Let it go. There are things, people, situations in this life that even if you were to go up against them every single day of the rest of your life they wouldn’t change. Do yourself a favour and just accept that’s the way it is. It’s time for you to either move on or enjoy the good bits from the situation. They are the bits that have had you hang around this long.
- Laugh with your mouth open. For a long time, I’m not sure when it started, I would cover my mouth when I laughed. Or do a sort of closed mouth chuckle. It was weird. Someone asked me about it one day and I said I didn’t know why I did it, but I assumed it was to muffle my rather loud laugh. Why the hell would you want to do that, they said? Why indeed. Laugh with your head back and your mouth open, it makes the funny things better.
- Get MORE sleep. Lots of it. As much as you can. It is SO much easier to be happy when you’ve had enough sleep to function like a human being does. This could mean going to bed an hour earlier, grabbing an afternoon power nap or enjoying long lazy mornings. Whatever, get more sleep! And I’m hearing you, sometimes that’s not possible. Try the power nap. It works a charm.
- Be nice to people. I find that when I’m out there being a nice person, I feel better about myself. And I’m not talking the sort of nice that sees you walked all over and leaves you feeling bad. I mean the sort of nice that has you use your manners, exercise patience and be generous with your opinion of others. Even if the only kick you really get deep down is what a wonderful person you are, it’s worth a giggle.
- Express yourself. Sometimes your happy can be tied to a certain situation. There might be something going on and all you can do is feel bad about it. It sucks the happy right out of you. These times are tricky and sometimes all it takes to expressing that blah feeling. It could be having a conversation you’ve been putting off to resolve the situation or it could be telling a friend about it. Either way, you’ll find communicating and expressing yourself is a great way to restore the happy in your life.
So that’s my list! THE things I think will make a difference to your practice of being happy. Or happier as the case may be. By no means a definitive list but it should absolutely get you started. Now I have some questions for you… What do you think makes a happy person happy? Do you think it takes practice? or is the ‘happy gene’ something people are born with?
