5 Ways to Practice Happiness

Practice makes perfect, right? What if we could practice feeling the emotions we desire to feel? Well, keep reading, and I will walk you through 5 simple, mood-conquering practices that will turn your frown upside down.

1. Practice smiling

When you’re happy this is easy enough to do and won’t warrant much gain. You must practice smiling when you don’t feel like smiling. When there seems to be a subconscious weight holding your lips from spreading wide into a genuine grin that is when you practice. Fake smiles don’t count. Any means used to achieve a real smile are fair game. Make silly faces at yourself, speak to yourself in strange voices, recount fond memories or look at funny pictures. We all have a humorous weak spot, find it and exploit it. Learn to let go of your grouchy glare or pout. A smile needs room to work with.

2. Practice meditating

An effective meditation can allow you to speak directly to your subconscious mind. Practice meditating and speaking positive words into your soul. Remember to breathe deeply. Exhale all your negative thoughts, inhale all that is positive. Sometimes it helps to focus on a happiness switch or button deep inside you and to practice flipping it on.

3. Practice letting go

We tend to hold on tightly to the things that bother us. Doing this causes us to settle into a negative mindset, prolong a bad mood, and can keep us awake at night. If you find yourself obsessing over the same thoughts repeatedly it’s time to let them go. You can practice letting go by telling yourself to let go and then consciously let the thoughts drift away. Let a newfound peace of mind settle firmly in their place. If they pop back up let them slip away again. Don’t get frustrated; every failure is an opportunity for more practice.

4. Practice optimism

Sometimes it’s hard to see the good in something without a trained eye. Increasing our optimism is easy if we practice it. You can do it anytime by counting your blessings or listing the good things you experienced today. For more difficult practice you have to seek out the good in a bad situation and make it prominent. However, optimism is more than simply recognizing the good in something. You must also find enjoyment and appreciation for the brighter side of life and use it to flip pessimism on its head. As your optimism increases you will begin to realize you can find positives in every negative.

5. Practice love

The most powerful conduit of happiness is undoubtedly love. It’s hard to think about yourself and your problems while giving love and attention to someone else. To practice love you must help others in any way you can. Often it takes no more than listening to a friend’s problems, offering a random hug or a smile. You could give to someone in need or offer encouragement to one who is disheartened. Sincere compliments are another way to give love and appreciation. The ways in which to practice love are endless. Just focus on granting someone else a reason to smile cheerfully. You may very well end up sharing that same smile.