Why You Should Do More Of What Makes You Happy (For Mental Health Happiness In 2021)
I know what you’re thinking.
Paul, If I knew what made me happy and could duplicate it daily, then I wouldn’t be here.
And you are not wrong for thinking this. However, I know you are happy in a lot of areas right now. The problem is that you are not recognizing what they are and then working on building those areas up.
When we feel sad or depressed, we tend to think ten steps ahead of where we emotionally are. And because of that, it is tough to keep the happiness moving forward.
It stalls, then stutters, and the next thing you know, it’s gone.
“We need to crawl before we walk and then walk before we can run again.”
In this blog, I will help you break down your path back to happiness and have you running again over time. Take these tips below and find out why you should do more of what makes you happy.
Let’s all do more of what makes you happy; let me show you how to find happiness in your life.
Do More Of What Makes You Happy
What makes you happy?
Can you find a way to repeat it often, perhaps expanding on it as it becomes easier to do?
Whatever brings a sense of joy to your soul or a smile to your face is worth being repeated.
If it makes you happy then double down!
Happiness is subjective.
That is what makes you so amazing; you are unique, and we love you for that.
Instead of focusing on areas that may not interest you, I want to help you find out what small wins make you happy. By finding out what actions give you a little jolt of happiness, you need to double down on them. Making them happen more often.
As these easy wins occur often, take on more significant areas. These bigger projects will seem less daunting. Following this in both your personal and work life is possible.
By creating small daily wins, you will find that you will go through each day with a more positive outlook. Making all aspects of your life better.
Daily wins that can make you happier (that you can repeat)
- Exercising for 60 minutes
- Creating a To-Do list and completing it
- Eating healthier than the day before
- Taking 10 minutes out of your day to meditate
How To Find Daily Wins
What is a ‘win’ do you say?
It’s anything that you feel a sense of self pride for completing.
Examples:
Choosing an apple over the left over cake… that’s a win.
Putting your dirty dishes directly in the dishwasher, not leaving them in the sink for later… that’s a win.
Reading a novel before bed instead of watching TV… that’s a win!
Write Down And Journal Your Happy Events
We do hundreds of things throughout the week that bring us small wins of happiness. However, with how busy our lives are and the limited ability to stay focused for long periods, it’s easy to forget what happened.
When you try to recall that pleasant feeling and what made it happen, we often draw a blank, leaving us in a lower mood than before.
To change this, start carrying a small journal with you, or find an app that you like that you can easily pull up. Write down these areas within your day that you would like to remember to look back at them, and tomorrow, you can do the same thing.
Post Them To Social Media & Save Them
We are in the infancy years of social media. The old ways of getting information and staying connected are becoming obsolete. Leaving us with a constant barrage of information coming and going from our phone.
There are a lot of people saying that social media is negatively affecting our mental health.
You are not wrong if you agree with this.
I Look at it differently:
I don’t see it as damaging to our mental health. It all depends on how you choose to use and interact with these platforms
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. ( Since you are interacting, you may as well give these a click, shoot me DM and say hi!)
A positive way to use your social media is to post about the win you had today, It will help when writing down the story. Also, the act of sharing it with the world will help you cement the feeling.
*be sure to tag me when you post your first win/ tweet
Here is another reason to share with social media. I share my more personal small wins and goals I have to my social media because it acts as an accountability check. My friends and family will see what I have planned for the next weeks to months, so if I am to “fail” then everyone will know.
Failing isn’t a negative … sometimes, we must fail to learn and grow.
You only FAIL when you do not learn from your mistakes.
Schedule In Weekly/Daily Planner
Once you start finding those small wins, it’s time to take a proactive approach to repeat them.
Add these to your Daily/Weekly calendar.
No matter how big or small, it is a positive reminder to see in the morning that you have a win to get. The more often you do the action, the easier it will become, and over time that action will happen naturally.
Come Up With A Plan If Your Happiness Needs It
Not all areas that bring happiness to you can achieve in a daily or weekly reminder. A bigger goal that will bring a smile onto your face will need to have a plan behind it to execute appropriately.
Before you start after a lofty goal, get used to achieving these small daily wins day after day. By doing this, you will feel more confident that you can reach out to this bigger goal over time.
Getting comfortable with getting small wins daily will prepare you for any setback that will %100 occur.
Our lives always have setbacks; we are only human!
7 Actions That Will Make You Happy And Boost Your Mental Health
Why do I say small wins?
Society has put success on such a high pedestal that we don’t see the work put in day after day by those humans.
Happiness, pride, joy, success and overall acceptance on who we are as humans isn’t depicted by the pedestal society views us on.
It’s these small wins.
Daily Gratitude
Daily gratitudes is a broad concept that makes it pleasant because there is a tiny chance of doing it wrong.
The idea is to take a few seconds of your day, let’s say between 30 seconds to 5 minutes, and give yourself some self-love. You can either write them down in your journal or say them out loud.
I say my gratitude as part of my morning routine. After my 5 minute meditation, I stay in that seated position and say aloud a few things im grateful for.
“I’m grateful for how quiet it is right now”
“I’m grateful for this hot lemon water”
“I’m grateful to be alive and ready to take on this day”
Disclaimer: talking to yourself can feel extremely weird. It sure as hell did for me when starting, but I get through them in under 30 seconds by saying the gratitudes out loud.
Exercise
Get up, get out and GET MOVING.
If you have read any other blogs, you will know how much value I put on exercise.
6 Powerful Benefits From Exercise
As a society, we have put the full focus on staying fit for the sole purpose of pure physical attributes. And sure, the more you move, the more calories you will burn and, over time, change your body.
But this is such a small way to look at getting active and fit daily!
I want to start seeing you put on a pair of runners and go for a walk or jog or hit the gym. Because of the steady growth day after day will bring a smile to your face.
4 reasons why moving will make you happy
- Certain endorphins release
- Seeing positive changes in your body
- Having an achievable daily goal
- You will feel proud every night that you did it!
Avoid Regrets
When was the last time you stopped and thought, “Damn, I missed out on that opportunity, wish I had done that.”
It didn’t feel too good, eh?
Getting uncomfortable is not easy. I know first hand how hard it is; I’ve lived a life of regret until three years ago. But working up the courage to take small steps outside of your comfort bubble is contagious.
And the feeling of joy that follows will fill your soul.
Deal With Clutter
The small action of keeping your place clean will leave you with a sense of pride. Always take a second to step back to look at the work you have done.
Either in your bedroom, bathroom or kitchen there are things lying around that you find yourself saying daily-
“I’ll deal with this tomorrow.”
Let’s make today your tomorrow.
Putting things away and keeping your life clutter-less can be a daily practice.
And it won’t take anywhere as long as you thought it would!
Start Each Day Off The Same
Try crafting the morning routine that works best for you. We are all unique in things we enjoy and can handle, take the time to add things you like and take out things that make your morning stressful.
Here is my 45–60 minute morning routine I do seven days a week.
Get 8 Hours Of Uninterrupted Sleep
Getting eight hours of uninterrupted sleep is something that many people think is not possible to achieve. Unfortunately, a solid night’s sleep is becoming harder to get, so we need to look at bedtime in a new light.
If it’s not happening naturally, then you need to work at it.
5 ways to get a better sleep
- Workout, break a sweat in the day
- Eat foods your body can digest within 4 hours of going to sleep
- Don’t eat sugar before bed
- Don’t drink any alcohol before bed
- Journal before you turn the lights off, getting out any thoughts that might disrupt your sleep
Celebrate The Small Wins
If you complete ANY of these things, then you have created a win.
Win definition:
When you are doing anything that puts you ahead of where you were, in physical, mental or spiritual meaning.
Wins are all around us, and your victories will most certainly look different than mine. However, this blog’s actions are areas most of us can focus on to find a solid base.
Whenever you complete a win, no matter how big or small, I want you to stop.
Look at what you did.
Give it a fist pump.
And move on looking for that next win, taking that sense of pride with you.
You are stoking that fire one win at a time, leaving you with an ear to ear smile on your face in due time.
Read More Mental Health Help Blogs At weareneveralone.co
Conclusion
Do more of what makes you happy! Find out what makes a smile cross your face and then make it happen again and again until it becomes second nature.
What is one thing that makes you smile?
I want to hear it; leave it in the comments below.
It might help someone who is having a hard time finding their own wins.
