Leo Tolstoy once said: “If you want to be happy, be.” Such a simple quote, yet such a rich piece of advice. But let’s dig deeper! “Happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment, involving positive emotions and life satisfaction.” In other words, happiness is a personal evaluation of your overall feelings about your life in the present. Notice it doesn’t say an evaluation of the life you have lived, nor does it say anything about the life you fear you won’t live. It talks about now, in this very moment… YOUR internal state of being.

It’s important to remember that happiness is not a constant state of euphoria, rather an overall sense of experiencing more positive emotions than negative. The goal is growth in how you perceive and cherish life’s individual moments.

This list is designed to help you create the space, the awareness, and the intention needed to live happier!

• Create fulfillment, don’t sit around waiting for it! As you define, discover, and dive deeper into your “why,” discover how feeling satisfied with where you are, what you are accomplishing, and what you’re learning leads to fulfillment. Life is not about how the world measures our success or our accomplishments, but rather how we personally define, measure, and appreciate our journey. There is nothing quite like checking off items on a bucket list! Align your “why” with the feeling of fulfillment and create seasonal goals – a seasonal bucket list, if you will.
• Find your purpose in life (also known as your “why”). “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Knowing what YOUR purpose is helps create that harmony. Your purpose may be absolute – based in faith, a life-long mission, etc., while other pieces of your purpose may be more relevant to your current situation (i.e. raising children).
• Journaling helps cultivate happiness. More and more scientific research is being conducted on journaling, and the results show how significant an impact journaling can have on gratitude, mindfulness, self-awareness, and introspection. All four of these pieces are correlated with happiness!
• Enjoy the moment! More often than not, our thoughts can either be found dwelling on the past or worried about the future. Be inspired by this quote: “Don’t cry over the past; it’s gone. Don’t stress about the future; it hasn’t arrived. Live in the present and make it beautiful!” BE in the moment and value it for all it offers!
• Happiness is contagious. It’s hard to be around someone who smiles all the time without smiling yourself, isn’t it? Studies show that when we surround ourselves with happy people, we are more likely to be happy ourselves. The same goes for laughter…it’s contagious! And extremely therapeutic! Laughter therapy has proven to be a beneficial aspect of maintaining well-being!