Happiness is a way of life, an attitude toward life that is designed to let you experience the positive outlook on your life and your actions. This kind of happiness takes time to build, but once you’ve got into the habit of living a happy life, you can never go back to the queue for the illusory happiness.
Being happy means taking a full control over your life and living it to the fullest. So, here are the things genuinely happy people do that unhappy people tend not to.
- Focus on what you have, not on what you don’t.
Gratitude is the first step to realizing that you are already a happy person. There are so many things that you have if you decide to look around you. Being unthankful and paying no value to these things will eventually leave you without them.
Happy people realize that one can never have everything. So, instead of focusing on the things that you don’t have, and dwelling over how ‘miserable’ your life is without them, you could take a look at your life and understand that you have already been blessed more than once.
- Be realistic toward your expectations.
Expectations are the mother of all disappointment. Why? Because we often tend to rely on external sources without thinking that we are the only and most reliable source of happiness for ourselves.
You should always be realistic toward your expectations. If you have set them toward people, ask yourself if these expectations can really be met by someone (or something) that doesn’t owe you anything to make your life happier.
The best person to meet all your expectations is yourself. Do you know why? Because you know your limits and you set your expectations accordingly.
- You have the power to change your life.
There is always something we will not like about our lives. Now, the question is: Will you complain, or will you try to set the course straight? Happy people choose the latter.
Your life is what you do with it. If you expect that it will magically change for the better, you are fooling yourself greatly. The reality is that if you don’t contribute to how your life looks like, you will end up in a dead end, and thus misery.
If you want something from life, you need to start working toward it, not just daydream about it. Take control over the situations and start creating some beneficial ones that will contribute to a goal you have set in your mind. Happiness is action.
- Happiness has no destination.
While many think that happiness looks like some magical moment in the future where everything will be pink and colorful, the truth is that happiness doesn’t look like that at all. Happiness has no destination – it’s the ride itself that makes happiness possible.
Experiencing genuine happiness is understanding that life is full of ups and downs (like a roller-coaster). Your job is to enjoy the ride, not think of the destination.
- Slow down.
You can’t smell the roses, you can’t see the beauties around you, and you can’t really enjoy life if you are on the run all the time. Slowing down is essential for a happy life. Devote a part of the day for doing nothing.
Don’t be surprised to see a happy person with a hobby. They all have one. It’s not only about the money and getting everything done – it’s also about giving some pleasure to your life that no money can give to you. Slow down and do something you’ve always wanted to do.
- There are no shortcuts.
Easy come easy go. Everything in life that has come the easy way in, will easily go out as soon as you become numb to it. In truth, you will never learn the value and appreciate the fruits of whatever comes into your life unless you don’t work for it, earn it.
Getting an easy job, tricking your way into things, easy money – these are all shortcuts that will eventually leave you unaware of your worth and your abilities. In turn, you will never feel the happiness that comes out of getting things on a silver platter for no good reason, because there is no such happiness.
- You are not entitled to anything.
You should never think that the things that come into your life are there because you deserve them unconditionally. You are not entitled to anything but what you make out of your life.
The truth is that no one owes you anything, you rip only what you have sowed and everything else is a bonus. So, work hard to giving yourself whatever you think you deserve. Deserve it.
- Your life has significance.
Once you understand what your gifts and abilities are, you need to understand that your life has significance on every scale imaginable. A happy person will always try to leave the world better than they found it.
So, never stop improving and being good to your world. Your life has the potential to change many others for the better.
- Be generous.
Selfish people are miserable. Generosity means opening your heart to the world. In turn, the world opens up to you. Being generous means that you find greater value for which you don’t hesitate to sacrifice something of a lesser value. Never stop being generous.
Do you know who gets the best out of forgiveness? If a person has hurt you, dwelling on the pain will cause only greater pain. This gives that person power over you long after they have done whatever they did.
Forgiving is letting go of the influence over you and taking the power into your own hands again. The best way to live happily is to move on. Nothing is permanent and nobody is perfect. If you can forgive and stay, do it. If not, just forgive and move on.
- Happiness is an attitude. Attitude is a choice.
Choosing to have a great and positive attitude toward life is the key to happiness. You can let your feeling take control over you, and you can also take control over your life and your outlook on it. The latter is happiness.
Nobody’s life is easy and it’s because struggles make growth possible. Having a positive attitude while you are living it will make life more interesting to walk through.
- Speak beauty.
If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t speak at all. It’s not because you are trying to ignore the negative bits of life, but because you know that munching on a bitter rubber will never solve any problem.
Choose words that are uplifting, encouraging, and full of positive energy. You need that energy to work on those bad bits and make them work out just right for you. Love life and don’t be afraid to show it – life is beautiful, no matter how much you’re trying to see it as dark.
Inspired by Rev. Shane L. Bishop
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.