14 Easy Tips to Increase Happiness

Life is now, and every day is a new chance to be happy.

My life is far from perfect. I have the typical problems of being a single mom living in one of the most expensive cities in North America.

I live in a box with the rent of a penthouse, I commute because a car is too expensive, and I work way too much.

I make a decent wage but still need to negotiate which month I can pay which bills. And I always second-guess whether I can afford that Starbucks latte.

But I’m happy. Even while counting change after rent for my caffeine addiction.

The trick is that I find ‘happy’ everywhere I can and whenever I can.

1. Family or friends. Even when they drive you crazy, enjoy them! Look back on old and new photos. There’s bound to be something funny in there.
2. Talk to your parents, if you’re fortunate enough to still have them. Listen to their stories, maybe write a book about their lives!
3. You won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s okay. You don’t need to go for tea with those people.
4. Ditch the jealousy, no one is worth that poison! Have faith in your relationship, and if it’s a bad relationship, then ditch that too.
5. Enjoy your time alone. In fact, enjoy your alone time more than time with others: that’s one of the best secrets to happiness.
6. Give yourself 5 minutes to be angry about something and then LET IT GO. Is whatever you are mad at worth all that energy you’re wasting being angry in the first place? I can think of a million other things I could do with that energy! Anger and jealousy are wasted emotions.
7. Be humble instead of entitled: it will change the way you see everything.
8. Love nature. Really love it. Nature is one thing in life that is constant.
9. Invest money, even just a small amount. Having that can give you peace of mind.
10. Eat healthily!
11. Exercise and keep moving, or try meditation.
12. Don’t just live for the weekends, live for Mondays and Tuesdays too.
13. Respect work/life balance.
14. Life is and always will be larger than our problems.

Bottom line

Life is an amazing gift. Learn to love it because it’s yours and no one else’s. Treat yourself like your own best friend. Remember, bad moments in life do not define life, they are life moments. They are experiences.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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Photo credit: iStock.com