9 Tips For A Happier, Healthier Life

It's easy to think you'll be happier and have a better life if only you had a bit more money or could lose a few pounds, but there are more sure-fire ways of achieving a better life. Here are 9 tips to help you on your way.

1. Be grateful: start or end every day by appreciating what you have rather than what you don't have. Make a ritual of it: "I'm grateful for .." Do this 5 times, listing a different thing each time.

2. Put your fork or your sandwich down between mouthfuls. This way you are likely to eat less and enjoy your food more.

3. Talk to a friend - not by email, but over the phone, or better still get together.

4. Sit at the table to eat, but clear the table of bills, things to do, etc. It doesn't help your digestion, if you look at your unpaid bills while you eat.

5. Walk (or jog or run) a little more. You should be taking 10,000 steps a day, but most people are only taking 3,000 to 4,000. Buying a pedometer will help to keep your motivation up.

6. Drink more water. It's good for your skin, helps you to avoid constipation, and may help you to lose weight as we often misinterpret the body's thirst request as a food request.

7. Volunteer to help someone else. Research shows that we live longer and happier lives if we spend time helping others rather than just thinking about ourselves.

8. Have a laugh. Buy yourself a child's joke book, and indulge, or buy a bubble-making machine and run around after the bubbles (this will help you with tip 5 too).

9. Look at the sky. Research has shown that people in hospital make a better recovery if they can see the sky from their hospital beds. Why wait to be ill? Enjoy it now.