Time- to enjoy our hobbies, to do fun activities, to play. We don’t engage in enough playful experiences even though they are bringing a lot of joy and happiness into our lives.
Heart- following our heart’s desires, pursuing our deepest dreams even if it’s scary, actually, because it’s scary since we deserve to create a life we love and make our biggest/wildest dreams come true.
Education. I’m talking about self-education, about educating us to think better, to think for ourselves instead of following society’s teachings blindly, to learn things that aren’t taught in schools but are necessary in life, like: to manage our mind, how to have healthy relationships, a new skill we need for our job, to communicate better, how to feel more peaceful and be happy, etc. The reality is, learning new things makes us happier.
Present. Happiness is only being felt in the now so we need to be present in order to experience it. Also, life is being lived in the here and now so, if we aren’t mindful about the present moment we might miss it.
Alive. It’s about doing the things that are bringing us the feeling of aliveness, of being in love with life, the desire of singing aloud with joy just because.
Transformation. I’m talking about personal growth, about becoming the person we are meant to be, the amazing one that lives inside of us, about transforming ourselves into the person who creates a happier life for herself.
Honoring our boundaries. Well, it’s pretty explanatory but a lot of people still have to do a lot of work on this topic. What I can say is that, I really do think this is one of the keys of being happier and I’m saying that as a reformed people pleaser so I do know what I’m talking about 🤪.
Ownership over our life. I didn’t think I was in control of my life for the biggest part of it, so I just let the Universe give me whatever instead of asking and going for what I wanted. But I now know better so I’m the one steering my life’s ship instead of letting it sail wherever the current it’s taking it.
Fears. I believe you’ve guessed what I’m referring to, right? 😉 It’s all about conquering our fears and getting out of our comfort zone because it doesn’t just make us happier when we do that, but it also builds our self-confidence, so it helps us to pursue the dreams that bring us happy feelings and emotions.
Health- when we’re sick we don’t think so much about being happy, we just want to get better, right?
Active- there’s so many studies linking movement with happiness, but I’m sure you’ve felt it personally after taking a walk in nature, a yoga practice, a cardio/HIIT workout, a pilates/spinning class, etc.
Positive- pretty obvious, right? You cannot be happy when you’re having a negative thinking, when you’re complaining and focusing on the bad side of things.
Purpose- I really felt it on my own skin, I have seen it around me in other people’s life, but I also have learned about having a purpose from spiritual teachers/psychologists/personal development experts. And it’s different for every one of us, it’s an individualistic thing like: starting a family, being a teacher/leader/coach/guide/influencer, creating something, building a business, being a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves, doing art because that’s what you love, building your dream house, etc.
Intuition- it’s kind of unexpected but, I can tell you from my personal experience that I’m happier when I listen to my inner guidance, to the voice that’s inside my gut, better saying when I choose to follow my instincts because I’m guiding my choices by what feels good to me.
Nonconformist- I’m not talking about not be complacent to societal norms, at least not all of them because it’s true that a lot of those aren’t good for us so we need to break free from following society’s rules blindly if it hurt us or make us feel like: we’re not enough, we don’t belong, we don’t deserve, we need to follow all the bs ones to be accepted. I’m talking about just being yourself always, no matter if you conform to society’s standards because that’s who you are/want or you don’t have any desire to be a conformist at all. In a nutshell, my own definition of the nonconformist word I’m using here is about being yourself, even if you don’t fit the norm or even when you actually do.
Emotional health- because we cannot be so happy or not at all when we’re in the deep pit of depression, in burnout, in the scary loop of anxiety, etc.
Socialize- another obvious one, but I will elaborate a bit so I don’t make differences between letters 😂. The happiness researchers all point to the fact that the most happy people are those who socialize frequently because we, humans, are social beings.
Solitude- this one I’ve discovered by myself and it’s so more appropriate for me since I’m an introvert, but I’ve seen it around me among extroverts too. And I’ve observed that we all need time to be just by ourselves so we can hear our own thoughts, to check in with our emotions, so we can find what we want in life/career/etc. We need ME TIME to get to know ourselves, to see what our dreams/desires/goals are. I believe we all have to take some vitamin S (social contact) from time to time, but some vitamin M (ME TIME) as well.
One more very important ingredient I have to add to my recipe and that is: gratitude. I believe you’ve heard about this essential ingredient, but I’m gonna tell you a bit about it. Basically, it is about being grateful for what we already have, acknowledge the things we usually take for granted and realize we have a lot of amazing things that are going good in our life, besides those that aren’t. Gratitude helps you see the big picture and to rewire your mind to focus on the positive aspects since it is mostly focused on seeing the negative ones. (Yes, you can also be grateful for things from your past or the ones you wish to happen in the future).
P.S. There are a lot of ingredients for happiness, but I think I’ve encompassed the essence of most here. What we must understand is that happiness is personal, individual and is different for each and every one of us. We all have a distinct definition for happiness and that’s great. But I hope that by reading my own, you can see clearly what’s yours or you can use my definition as a guidance to be happier or at least, it helps you begin thinking about what makes you happy. 🌈
